Death rate continues in western U.P.

By ZACHARY MARANO

zmarano@yourdailyglobe.com

HANCOCK — The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department reported one death in Gogebic and two deaths in Houghton in the last seven days, making this the 10th week in a row at least three people in the western U.P. died with COVID-19.

Since the last weekly update on Feb. 2, there were 35 new COVID-19 cases in Baraga County, 45 new cases in Gogebic, 106 new cases in Houghton, eight new cases in Keweenaw and 14 new cases in Ontonagon, for a total of 208 new cases.

As of Wednesday, there have been a total of 14,163 COVID-19 cases in the five counties. There have been 3,249 new cases since the health department’s first update of the year on Jan. 6, including 436 new cases in Baraga County, 242 new cases in Gogebic, 1,764 new cases in Houghton, 90 new cases in Keweenaw and 177 new cases in Ontonagon.

The case rates per 100,000 population were 403 cases in Baraga County, 284 cases in Gogebic, 289 cases in Houghton, 364 cases in Keweenaw and 222 cases in Ontonagon, for a total of 299 cases per 100,000 population in the western U.P.

This is less than half of the 634 case rate per 100,000 population reported by the health department last week, but still well above what the Centers for Disease and Prevention considers a high rate of transmission. According to the CDC, a case rate of 0-9 per 100,000 population is a low risk of transmission, 10-49 is a moderate risk, 50-99 is a substantial risk and 100 or more is a high risk.

The overall vaccine statistics for all ages by county are 50.7% in Baraga County, 61.1% in Gogebic, 55.6% in Houghton, 55.6% in Keweenaw and 66.5% in Ontonagon, for a total of 57.4% in the five counties. According to the Michigan COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard on michigan.gov, 65.5% of all Michigan residents have received one or more doses of the vaccine as of Monday.

The WUPHD is offering free weekly COVID-19 testing at four locations, including the memorial building on 213 Marquette St. in Ironwood, 303 Baraga Ave. in L’Anse, 408 Copper St. in Ontonagon and 821 Water St. in Hancock. The clinics are open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays in L’Anse, on Tuesdays in Ontonagon, on Wednesdays in Ironwood and Mondays through Fridays in Hancock.

According to the Iron County Health Department’s most recent COVID-19 update on Wednesday, there have been 18 confirmed cases and two probable cases since Feb. 2, for a total of 1,448 cases and 45 deaths in Iron County, Wisconsin.

The total population in Iron County who received one dose of the vaccine is 65.5% and the total population who completed the series is 62.2%. According to the Wisconsin COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker, 71.2% of people in Wisconsin are vaccinated with at least one dose and 64.5% are fully vaccinated.