Western UP's seven-day COVID-19 case count increases to 92

By ZACHARY MARANO

zmarano@yourdailyglobe.com

HANCOCK — There were almost 100 new COVID-19 cases but zero deaths across the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department’s five counties in seven days from May 4-11, a Wednesday briefing from the health department says.

Most of the new COVID-19 cases were in Houghton County, which had 60 new cases. There were also 18 new cases in Gogebic County, eight new cases in Ontonagon County and three new cases each in Baraga and Keweenaw counties, for a total of 92 new cases.

The seven-day case count went up from 78 last week. Prior to May 4, the health department’s last briefing was on April 20. The case count of 41 in the April 20 briefing was itself an increase from 21 the previous week.

By Centers for Disease Control and Prevention measurements, all five counties in the western U.P. have low COVID-19 community levels. However, if the number of new cases continue increasing, it could tip the scales and bring them to medium or high levels.

If the rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population over the past seven days is 200 or more, a community level is reclassified as medium. As of Wednesday, Baraga County has a case rate of 34.5, Gogebic has a rate of 113.8, Houghton has a rate of 163.7, Keweenaw has a rate of 136.5 and Ontonagon has a rate of 127, for a total case rate of 132.1 across the region.

The community level will also be classified as medium if the seven-day total of new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population is greater than 10 or the seven-day average of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is greater than 10%. If these indicators don’t match, the measurement is determined by whichever level is highest.

The CDC recommends additional precautions for high-risk individuals at medium and high COVID-19 community levels and wearing a mask indoors at high levels. The CDC also says that people should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if they have symptoms at all levels, including low.

The health department in Iron County, Wisconsin reported six confirmed COVID-19 cases since April 29 on May 5. According to the CDC website, Iron County’s COVID-19 community level was medium as of Thursday.