The federal government is sending medical teams to Michigan to help hospitals respond to surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state.
Four updates:
1. Michigan has the highest rate of new cases per capita of any state at 85 per 100,000, according to data tracked by The New York Times. The state is also reporting the highest seven-day average for hospitalizations at 4,092.
2. Over the last two weeks, cases have increased 59 percent and hospitalizations have jumped 41 percent. As of Nov. 24, the most recent data available, 3,901 people were hospitalized with confirmed cases, state data shows. Of these individuals, 493 were on ventilators and 828 were in intensive care.
3. The surge is straining hospitals statewide, affecting "virtually every part of Michigan, both urban and rural," Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, told The Washington Post. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel said hospitals are at capacity across the state, particularly in metropolitan Detroit and West Michigan.
4. Granting a request made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the U.S. is sending two 22-member medical personnel teams to Michigan to provide support, the state health department said Nov. 24. The teams, which include nurses, physicians and respiratory therapists, will help staff at Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn and Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health. The clinicians are set to arrive this week and will stay for 30 days.