By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


There were 13 new COVID-19 infections over the weekend in Livingston County, with a fourth death reported from the disease.

According to statistics released Sunday afternoon by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Livingston County has a total of 209 residents infected with the novel coronavirus. That is up from 196 on Friday, when the county’s third death was reported, an elderly woman who had underlying medical conditions. There were no details released about the fourth death.

Meanwhile, the MDHHS reports the number of confirmed cases statewide increased by 645, to 24,638, with 95 additional deaths for a total of 1,487 fatalities. While the 645 new infections is almost half as many as the 1,210 reported Saturday, officials cannot say if it represents a true decline in COVID-19 in Michigan. “Reported case counts may reflect a reduction in the amount of laboratory testing performed over the weekend and holiday. Single day fluctuations in the number of confirmed cases may not be significant, as a number of external factors can affect data reporting.” The statement went on to say, “Although there is a limited amount of data to compare, previous testing reports have illustrated consistent Sunday decreases with some being as high as a 25 percent reduction over the previous day. Sunday, March 22 had a 25 percent drop in reported tests. Sunday, March 29 saw a 3 percent drop in reported tests. Sunday, April 5 saw a 25 percent drop in reported tests.”

The Livingston County Health Department’s website indicates that of the 209 local cases, 42 are hospitalized while 58 have recovered from the virus. The LCHD defines a case as recovered when the patient has gone least 72 hours without a fever, respiratory symptoms have shown improvement and at least 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.