Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has pushed additional restrictions, emphasizing the total number of COVID-19-linked deaths and cases in the state, rather than the significantly lower rank the state has in terms of per-million counts. | Facebook
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has pushed additional restrictions, emphasizing the total number of COVID-19-linked deaths and cases in the state, rather than the significantly lower rank the state has in terms of per-million counts. | Facebook
Going into the normal time of year for cold and flu season, the U.S. as a whole has seen COVID-19 cases rise, including Michigan.
Sarah Lyon-Callo, director of the Bureau of Epidemiology and Population Health at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, recently told the press that the state ranks 6th in the nation for the total number of COVID-19 cases, and 5th in the nation for total number of COVID-19-linked deaths, according to coverage by Bridge Michigan.
Yet, a PowerPoint published on the state government’s website also confirms that in terms of deaths per million, Michigan ranked 10 in the nation around the middle of November.
In fact, Worldometers.org – which tabulates data from state and national databases – showed Michigan had moved down to 12th in the nation in terms of deaths per million as the Thanksgiving weekend approached. Yet, even that doesn’t demonstrate the full picture.
Michigan had 937 coronavirus-linked deaths per million residents as of Nov. 27, putting it fairly close to the 11th-ranked Washington D.C. with 959 deaths per million and neighboring Illinois, which was ranked 10th with 1,001 deaths per million, according to Worldometers.org.
Yet, the distance between 1st and 12th is much more extreme, according to Worldometers.org. New York and New Jersey continue to lead the country – and the world – in deaths per million. At 1,923 deaths per million, New Jersey actually is experiencing more than double the death rate of Michigan, despite some of the strictest pandemic restrictions in the country, a death toll that is continuing to grow.
Regardless of the numbers, Whitmer focused on the importance of Michiganders to continue to live their lives in fear, according to Bridge.
"We are in the worst moment of this pandemic to date," Whitmer was quoted as saying by Bridge. "The situation has never been more dire. We are at the precipice and we need to take some action because as the weather gets colder and people spend more time indoors, the virus will spread, more people will get sick, and there will be more fatalities."
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