Breaking News

Covid-19

Region’s virus cases still rising

State data Wednesday showed Dickinson County added 126 confirmed COVID-19 positives in just the past two days and Iron County 44 new cases. Figures on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus website Wednesday indicated 899 new confirmed COVID-19 positives in the Upper Peninsula since Monday: 234 in Marquette County, the 126 in Dickinson County, 118 in Houghton County, 117 in Delta County, 72 in Chippewa County, 44 in Iron County, 37 in Menominee County, 32 in Mackinac County, 29 in Alger County, 27 in Gogebic County, 23 in Baraga County, 17 in Luce County, ...

More deaths than births

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Deaths exceeded births in Michigan in 2020, a rare result influenced by COVID-19, statistics show. “We can blame a lot of deaths on COVID,” demographer Kurt Metzger told the Detroit Free Press, “but the fact is the trend of increasing deaths and decreasing births is a problem for Michigan outside of COVID.” Slightly more than 117,000 people died in 2020, while there were 104,000 births in Michigan — the first time that births lagged in more than a century of record-keeping, according to the state health department. COVID-19 was listed as the main ...

Vaccine mandate to kick in for first wave of health workers

Health care workers in about half the states face a Thursday deadline to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine under a Biden administration mandate that will be rolled out across the rest of the country in the coming weeks. While the requirement is welcomed by some, others fear it will worsen already serious staff shortages if employees quit rather than comply. And in some Republican-led states that have taken a stand against vaccine mandates, hospitals and nursing homes could find themselves caught between conflicting state and federal demands. “We would like to see ...

COVID-19 booster drive is faltering in the US

NEW YORK (AP) — The COVID-19 booster drive in the U.S. is losing steam, worrying health experts who have pleaded with Americans to get an extra shot to shore up their protection against the highly contagious omicron variant. Just 40% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster ...

COVID-19 cases rise across UP

State data Monday showed Dickinson County had 83 more confirmed COVID-19 positives in the past three days and Iron County 39 new cases. Figures on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus website Monday indicated 1,022 new confirmed COVID-19 positives in the Upper Peninsula since Friday: 302 in Marquette County, 160 in Houghton County, 146 in Delta County, 97 in Chippewa County, 83 in Dickinson County, 58 in Gogebic County, 47 in Menominee County, 39 in Iron County, 29 in Mackinac County, 14 in Alger County, 12 in Baraga County, 11 in Ontonagon County, nine in ...

6th Michigan hospital to get federal medical team amid surge

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A sixth Michigan hospital will receive staffing assistance from a federal medical team to help treat COVID-19 patients during the latest surge, state health officials said Monday. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, where 100% of beds were occupied as of Monday, will be supported by as many as 25 additional personnel for 30 days starting Feb. 7, the state health department said. Teams already are in place at hospitals in Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Saginaw and Wyandotte. Michigan's coronavirus-related hospitalizations hit new highs two weeks ago before dipping ...