“It’s real,” said Brian Hartl, an epidemiologist for Kent County. “We’re seeing community spread.”

Kent County is home to Grand Rapids and Michigan’s fourth-most populous county. On April 1, it had 119 cases, two fewer than Ingham County (121) and less than two dozen more than Livingston County (101).

As of Friday morning, Kent County had 815 total cases, while Ingham had 370 and Livingston had 312.

The increase comes after county health officials noticed that homeless people were testing positive for the virus and tested 250 people at the Mel Trotter Ministries’ shelter in Grand Rapids. About 70 tested positive.

Health officials partnered with another homeless shelter, Guiding Light, to accommodate those who tested positive or were sick and awaiting a test result, said Joann Haganson, a registered nurse and director of community wellness for the county health department.

Thirty-nine people were in the Guiding Light facility as of Thursday.

Kent County’s caseload is surging as those of neighboring counties are growing as well, but at a far smaller rate: Neighborhood Ottawa County’s average rate has jumped from three per day last week to 10 now, while Muskegon’s average has increased from five to 11 over the same time.