CMU announces 63 new COVID-19 cases
Central Michigan University has announced 63 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases at the university between Aug. 24 and Aug. 30.
According to the Fired Up for Fall webpage, there have been a total of 142 cases at CMU since June 15. The new case count differs from the 163 confirmed cases being reported by the Central Michigan District Health Department (CMDHD) related to CMU students returning to the Mount Pleasant area.
According to a press release from the health department, the case count in Isabella County is as of Aug. 31 and includes another 15 that are probable. This is up from 128 confirmed cases with eight probable cases from 9 a.m. Aug. 28. This count starts at Aug. 16.
Davies said in an Aug. 28 email that the university’s number differs from the health department because the CMDHD counts include cases they believe are related to students returning that are not current CMU students, staff and faculty. Those cases are not included in CMU’s count, he said.
According to the department’s website, Isabella County has seen 435 COVID-19 cases as of Aug. 31 since the beginning of the pandemic. Recoveries are at 157 and deaths are currently at nine.
Amid this spike in cases, Isabella County is considered one of the Michigan counties at the highest risk of COVID-19 as of Aug. 31, according to a map from the Harvard Global Health Institute. The map labels counties’ and states’ risks of COVID-19 from green (lowest risk) to red (highest risk). Isabella County is one of two counties in Michigan that is red with Luce County in the Upper Peninsula being the other.
