By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Michigan has set a new record – the highest daily COVID-19 case count since the start of the pandemic.

The state recorded 25,858 cases and 338 deaths from the virus over a two-day period. That's an average of 12,929 cases per day. Its highest daily confirmed case rate for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. The state's previous high of 9,779 cases per day was reached on November 20th.

The explosive growth comes as Michigan already grapples with a fourth, months-long surge in which coronavirus hospitalizations, while lower from recent record peaks, remain high. On Monday, the state health department reported 3,797 adults and 55 children were hospitalized with confirmed virus infections. Recent data further showed there was an average of 2,012 emergency room visits related to COVID-19 every day in the state.

Michigan continues to have a high transmission rate and the percentage of positive tests is also up.

Per the most recent local data on Monday, Livingston County had 27,512 confirmed cases, 5,081 probable cases, 854 hospitalizations and 342 deaths. The Livingston County Health Department now has new quarantine, isolation, and vaccination calculators available online, in which people can enter dates and calculate time frames.

State health officials have described the state's situation as "critical" and continue to urge vaccinations, booster shots, and masking amid the fourth surge.

New cases of COVID-19 also have soared nationally to their highest level on record, at more than 265,000 a day amid the arrival of the highly contagious omicron variant.