MARQUETTE COVID cases continue to rise in four eastern Upper Peninsula counties.
Mackinac County added the most cases throughout April with 131 cases, followed by Luce County with 100 cases. Alger and Schoolcraft Counties each increased by a total of 47 cases, according to the Luce, Mackinac, Alger, Schoolcraft District Health Department.
The largest case increase over the last month was reported in people ages 19 to 64, with that age group comprising around 55% of cases across all four counties.
This group was followed by the 3 to 18 age range at around 32%, 65 and up at 9.80%, 0-2 at just over 2% and unknown at around 1%. In March, the LMAS District Health Department’s four-county jurisdiction added 59 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 73 probable cases for a total of 132. However, that number increased from April 4 to May 5, adding 325 cases of COVID-19 in the last month alone, 179 of which were confirmed and 146 which are probable.
‘Health freedom’ activists target school boards in fight against Michigan COVID restrictions
Today 8:15 AM
Students wear their masks during class at All Saints Central Middle and High School in Bay City on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. (Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com) Kaytie Boomer | MLive.comJoel Bissell | MLive.com
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Conservative activists are encouraging parents to resist mask mandates and COVID-19 health orders in school districts across Michigan.
School board meetings have faced crowds of protesters demanding their districts reject emergency epidemic orders issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Activists who have called the coronavirus pandemic a “hoax” and questioned the effectiveness of vaccines have also attended the meetings to advance their agenda.
An elementary school in the Huron Valley Schools will be closed for a week due to COVID-19.
School officials shut down Heritage Elementary for in-person learning after three students at the building tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in 88 quarantines.
Initially, four classrooms were to be remote before administrators decided to keep all Heritage students virtual through at least April 23. The earliest they will return to face-to-face would be April 26.
Since April 7 and returning from spring break, the district has recorded 91 positive cases of COVID-19 across all buildings, resulting in 703 quarantines in a little over a week. That includes five COVID-19 positive tests from Milford High School baseball players, resulting in 94 quarantines on April 16.
Schools are still open. Sports are still being played. Restaurants were as busy over the weekend as they were in recent weeks.
Even so, Whitmer is holding fast to her recent position that she is not going to impose new economic restrictions, a stance that drew praise from a business leader.
“To her credit, there has been a tremendous amount of pressure, among the media especially, to try and to push her into further lockdowns,” Brian Calley, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan and former lieutenant governor to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, said in a member Facebook event.