Michigan passes 25,000 COVID-19 deaths; hospitals are so full patients are dying at home

The hospitalization of mostly unvaccinated COVID patients is straining hospital care, making it more likely that patients will die for medically preventable reasons. (Bridge file photo)

by Robin Erb and Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) 

Michigan’s hospitals are so overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients now that others who are sick are now dying at home rather than seeking care in packed emergency rooms, University of Michigan doctors said Wednesday.

They added their voices to warnings from Michigan’s healthcare systems that are experiencing the highest number of patients of the pandemic. The state reported 4,689 COVID-19 patients statewide, extending the peak first hit early last week.

“People have died and will die of non-COVID-19 disease in our area, across the state and across the nation because COVID-19 is overrunning our hospitals,” said Dr. Marschall Runge, CEO of Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor and dean of the University of Michigan medical school, speaking at a media event Wednesday. 

Michigan now has the second-highest rate of new infections, behind only New Hampshire.

More than 25,000 people have now died of COVID-19 in Michigan since the pandemic began. With 235 deaths reported Friday, the state’s confirmed COVID death toll stands at 25,080.

As the year closes, the death count for 2021 is approaching the first year of the pandemic. There are now 12,039 COVID-19 deaths in 2021, compared to 13,033 in 2020 (though the virus didn’t hit Michigan until March, 2020).

The latest surge of cases has proven to be the most deadly this year, with over 4,700 people dying since Sept. 1. Just over 4,000 died during the late winter-spring surge.

Nationally, Michigan ranks No. 10 in total COVID-19 deaths, both confirmed and suspected, with 26,914. It ranks 16th in the number of deaths per 100,000 people. The state has the 10th most people among states.

The death toll is likely to rise, with the state reporting Friday that 4,761 patients are being treated in Michigan hospitals for confirmed or suspected COVID-19, extending the peak COVID-19 hospital census that has the state asking the federal government for 200 more ventilators to treat patients.

There was some hopeful news Friday. COVID case counts were down again, with the state reporting 11,783 new cases, or 5,892 a day. That puts the seven-day rate at 6,251 daily cases, a significant drop from the 7,167 case average a week ago.

And the state reported that 15.6 percent of new coronavirus tests came back positive, the lowest since it was 14.7 percent on Nov. 5. The weekly rate fell to 17.7 percent, down from 19.6 percent a week ago. A lower test positivity rate indicates less community spread of the virus.

Daily case rates are falling in Detroit and all but 10 of the state’s 83 counties, another encouraging sign as Michigan continues to have one of the highest overall rates of new cases in the country.

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

by Sara Swanson

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