GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — While the pandemic may be over officially, that doesn't mean COVID-19 has gone away. Right now, national reports show a spike in cases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, Michigan is still tracking low case numbers for COVID-19; however, it's still popping up here in our state.
"COVID is still, is a concerning disease because it's still mutating. It's a virus, just like influenza or any other virus. It can mutate and change," Region 6 Healthcare Coalition Medical Director Jerry Evans said.
West Michigan hospitals are always watching for the latest trends.
"In our communities throughout Michigan, and Region 6 is no exception to that, we were seeing some patients that are getting COVID. Some are getting admitted. Most patients are doing very well with COVID overall. We're not seeing serious disease in most cases," Evans added.
"In the middle of July, we had 24 patients admitted with COVID, in our 13 county region. Today, we have 19. We had gone down to ten, so it's going up and down."
A lot has changed since last summer, including the "summer surge" of COVID-19 cases.
"I haven't heard of any major outbreaks at this point, but I think that what I see in Michigan, which is really what I've been focusing on, has been a relatively low level to moderate level of steady-state disease, which is what we expect," Evans said.
The CDC shows, nationwide, a 12% increase in hospitalizations from the previous week. Its most recent report shows 8,000 people were admitted to the hospital.
"We're still encouraging people to get vaccinated. We're still encouraging people to strongly consider that with time, and to not just imagine that it's going to stay a mild disease forever," Evans said.
The CDC also recommends staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines and improving ventilation.
"I will say that those patients that are at high risk— the elderly, those with asthma, those with COPD and other respiratory illnesses— are still at high risk for this," he said.
Current CDC guidelines say if you test positive, you should isolate for five days and wear a mask through day ten. If you test negative twice within 48 hours, you can remove your mask sooner.
