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Houghton County has first virus death; state lists 28 new UP cases

State health officials listed 28 new COVID-19 positives in the Upper Peninsula this weekend, with Houghton County seeing its first death related to the virus.

The person was elderly and an in-patient at a local hospital, according to the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department.

The WUPHD also put out an advisory Saturday that an off-campus organization, the Theta Tau-Beta Chapter at 407 Fairview St. in Houghton, may have been a potential COVID-19 exposure site during events this past Monday and Tuesday. The group, which is not recognized by Michigan Technological University, did not practice social distancing or wear face coverings while gathering, the WUPHD said in a news release posted on its Facebook page.

The new positives in the Upper Peninsula this weekend, according to the state data site, included six cases each in Delta and Marquette counties; five in Houghton County; three in Iron County; two in Menominee, Gogebic and Mackinac counties; and one each in Dickinson and Luce counties.

Public Health, Delta and Menominee Counties on Sunday posted 127 cases in Delta County and 216 in Menominee County — four and three more, respectively, than state figures showed.

On the Wisconsin side of the region, that state’s COVID-19 data site indicated 39 new positives: 16 more cases in Marinette County, 10 in Forest County, seven in Vilas County, four in Iron County and two in Florence County.

For the Upper Peninsula, the MDHHS data site Sunday had Keweenaw County with two confirmed cases; Luce County, five confirmed cases; Baraga County, six confirmed cases and two probable; Schoolcraft County, 14 confirmed cases and one probable; Alger County, 16 confirmed and one probable; Mackinac County, 28 confirmed cases and eight probable; Iron County, 30 confirmed cases and one death; Ontonagon County, 33 confirmed and one probable; Chippewa County, 36 confirmed cases and 21 probable; Houghton County, 60 confirmed cases, 12 probable and one death; Dickinson County, 64 confirmed cases, one probable and two deaths; Delta County, 123 confirmed cases, 28 probable and three deaths; Gogebic County, 134 confirmed cases, 10 probable and a death; Marquette County, 210 confirmed cases, 33 probable and 11 deaths; and Menominee County, 213 confirmed cases and 32 probable. State numbers are updated daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also earlier separately had prison inmates who were positive in Luce and Chippewa counties.

Using only the state figures Sunday, the Upper Peninsula has had 976 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date with 19 deaths.

The MDHSS reported 799 confirmed new COVID-19 cases in Michigan on Saturday and 539 on Sunday for a total of 102,017 to date. The state added 21 new deaths Saturday — including seven that happened earlier but recently were verified through vital records and testing, according to the MDHHS — and six Sunday for a total of 6,473.

For Wisconsin counties in the region, the state Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 data site Sunday had Marinette County with 610 cases and six deaths; Iron County 122 cases and one death; Vilas County 104 cases; Forest County 77 cases and four deaths; and Florence County 25 cases. As with the Michigan data, the state numbers are updated daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

Wisconsin recorded 819 new positives in the state Saturday and 537 Sunday for a total of 75,337 to date, according to the state DHS data site. The state had six new COVID-19 deaths Saturday and three Sunday for a total of 1,122.

According to the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department, Dickinson County as of Friday has had 64 confirmed COVID-19 positives, with 41 recovered, two deaths and 21 cases still active. Iron County has had 28 positives, with 15 recovered, one death and 12 still active.

Dickinson County Healthcare System as of Friday showed 19 cases from Dickinson County and 30 cases from other counties; those counties are not identified. DCHS has tested 3,098 people for COVID-19, with 49 positive, 2,975 negative and 74 results still pending. DCHS noted there are several additional sources of testing in Dickinson County.

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