WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – With the addition of “probable cases” being added to the coronavirus case total Friday, more than 1,000 Washtenaw County residents have or have reportedly had COVID-19, health officials said.

Combining 974 lab confirmed case of the virus with 213 probable cases Friday, April 24, Washtenaw County has 1,187 coronavirus cases, according to the Washtenaw County Health Department.

There are also 47 deaths associated with the virus with three deaths likely associated with the virus that have not been confirmed.

Probable cases are identified as cases involving ill individuals who have been directly linked to or are in close contact with someone with a confirmed case and have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, but were not tested, officials said.

“Testing remains a challenge,” Washtenaw County Health Officer Jimena Loveluck said. “We know confirmed cases can’t yet give us a complete picture of what’s happening locally, and we’re doing everything we can to understand the impact of COVID-19 more fully in Washtenaw County.”

Recoveries from the virus, both confirmed and probable, sits at 593 cases, according to the Washtenaw County Health Department’s database.

COVID-19 patients transferred from hospitals outside the county to Washtenaw County medical facilities are not included in the county’s data.

As of Friday, Michigan has a 8 percent fatality rate associated with COVID-19, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus database.

The case fatality rate is the proportion of people who have died from causes associated with confirmed COVID-19 infection, health officials said.

Recoveries in Washtenaw County are defined as patients who are seven days past the day their symptoms started and have had no symptoms or fever for more than 72 hours, county health officials said.

The state report shows lower numbers of recovery due to its criteria of a recovery being a patient who is alive 30 days after the onset of the virus.

County health officials have seen a slowing of confirmed cases but suspect the number may be skewed due to a lag in reporting case numbers from testing centers to the county.

Jump in new coronavirus cases puts Washtenaw County near 1,000 confirmed cases

There were 966 confirmed cases and 274 hospitalizations reported in Washtenaw County on Thursday, April 23.

The latest cumulative report from the state, updated at 3 p.m. Friday, reports there are 36,641 confirmed cases of the virus in Michigan with 3,085 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Read all of MLive’s coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, counter tops) and when you go into places like stores.

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