Gogebic County sees surge in COVID-19 cases

By Zachary Marano

zmarano@yourdailyglobe.com

Ironwood — Since the Western U.P. Health Department’s last update on July 1, there has been a surge in COVID-19 cases in Gogebic County. In the 19-day period between July 2-20, 33 people in the county tested positive for the coronavirus.

“Testing is encouraged for anyone who is having symptoms or has been in contact with a known case. Contact your local healthcare provider or pharmacy for testing information,” a release from the WUPHD said.

There were two new cases in Houghton County and two new cases in Ontonagon County over the same period. There were also two deaths due to COVI across the five western U.P. counties – one in Gogebic County and another in Ontonagon County.

Cathryn Beer, health officer and chief executive of the WUPHD, said that the surge in cases was a result of several large, private gatherings over the holiday weekend.

Beer said around 60% of the new cases in Gogebic County were people under the age of 29, which reflects the lower vaccination rates in this age group.

According to the release from the WUPHD, 13.6% of COVID-19 tests in the last seven days for Gogebic County came back positive. Beer said Gogebic County’s percent positivity is currently one of the highest in the state of Michigan.

Gogebic County’s average number of cases over the past two weeks is 166.8 cases per million, compared to 26.3 per million across the entire U.P.

The health department has recorded a total of 6,070 confirmed and probable cases and 159 deaths in the five Western U.P. counties. Gogebic County has the second highest number of total cases at 1,444 and the highest number of total deaths at 53. The county with the highest number of confirmed and probable cases is Houghton at 3,145. In Ontonagon County there have been 484 cases and 22 deaths.

The vaccination rate has increased since July 1 with 51.9% of the total population over age 11 having received their first dose and 49.2% being fully vaccinated over the five counties. In the previous update, the rates were 51.1% and 48.1%, respectively.

The full vaccination rate in Gogebic County is 52.3%, and in Ontonagon County it is 57.6%.

The last Iron County, Wisconsin, COVID-19 update was made on July 7. Since its update on July 1, there were two new confirmed cases for a total of 708 cases. There was one new death for a total of 41 deaths. There were three active cases at the time of the update.