Positive COVID-19 cases skyrocket in Manchester

For a few weeks in October, it appeared the current COVID wave we are experiencing was coming to an end and that this wave would be the smallest we’ve experienced in Manchester. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse in the beginning of November, when cases started rising again, and last week we had a shockingly high number of new positive cases. 

The Washtenaw County Health Department updated new COVID cases by zip code last Thursday and Manchester (zip code 48158) had 63 new positive cases in the previous seven-day period. This is by far the most new cases we've had in one week since the pandemic began. The previous highest new case numbers in a week was 35 which we reached in early December last year and mid-April last spring.

The recent surge is reflected in cases in the school district as well. After a September with a high number of cases, Manchester Community Schools announced very few positive COVID cases or close contacts through October. Cases began increasing again in November. Last Tuesday the district announced a new positive case at Riverside and 11 new close contacts, and Thursday they announced an additional five new positive cases at the High School (four students and one staff member), and 35 new close contacts.

Manchester is not experiencing this spike of positive cases alone. Washtenaw County (which reports new cases per day) had a day with their single highest number of new cases per day within the same seven-day period, 309 new cases on Nov. 12. And Michigan, which currently has the highest COVID rate in the nation, experienced its highest seven-day daily average of positive cases last Wednesday. 

Hospitals across the state have reported crowded conditions because of COVID-19 patients that are affecting the delivery of care for all patients. The state’s hospitals are treating 3,661 patients for confirmed or suspected COVID-19, up 239 from Wednesday and 746 from last Friday; a 26 percent increase. And although we are closing in on the number of hospitalized COVID patients at this time last year, we are still not there statewide, but especially in Washtenaw where a high percentage of our population is fully vaccinated, so less likely to require hospitalization if they contract COVID. 

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.