MOUNT CLEMENS, MI — An eighth COVID-19 death was announced in Michigan Saturday night.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel spoke briefly to reporters Saturday evening, confirming that a 52-year-old male with underlying health conditions had died from the rapidly-spreading virus.

The death occurred at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township, according to a news release. It is Macomb County’s first death stemming from the virus.

“As sad as it to say, we expected that at some point this was going to happen .... that we were going to have to announce a fatality as a result of COVID-19,” Hackel said. "Today happens to be that day.

“It’s sad. You think for someone only 52 years old, that’s a life cut short.”

Officials also reported a 1-month-old infant tested positive for COVID-19, along with a 100-year-old resident. Both are Macomb County residents. No additional information about those cases was released.

Macomb County has recorded 121 positive cases -- 20 percent are hospitalized, 25 percent reported an underlying medical condition and 52 percent of those are over age 50, according to a news release. The statistics were current as of 8 p.m. Saturday, March 21.

The state confirmed five deaths total in Michigan Saturday afternoon, but three more deaths were later reported -- the 52-year-old in Macomb County, a 90-year-old woman in Oakland County and a man in his 70s in Kent County.

The Kent County death was announced roughly an hour before the announcement in Mount Clemens. That man died at a Spectrum Health hospital.

“I think someone may have mentioned early on that this is a hoax,” Hackel said. “But today we come to realize that this is not a hoax. It’s anything but.”

The number of reported coronavirus cases in Michigan jumped to 787 on Saturday — an increase of 238 cases since Friday, according to data released by the state Health and Human Services Department.

Read all of MLive’s up-to-date coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

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