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In Michigan, cases have increased since the last week of February, and the state has reported the second-highest number of cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the UK.
The spikes come as Michigan prepares to roll out the state’s largest mass vaccination site at Ford Field in Detroit.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials took center stage on Thursday at Ford Field to announce that the site – scheduled to open March 24 and managed with support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency – will have the capacity to administer 6000 shots daily.
“We’re in the 4th quarter of this fight against the pandemic. It’s not over yet. It’s not time to make a football spike,” Whitmer said. “It’s time for us to bite the bullet and keep doing the work that we need to do until the last second of this event is played out. If we are to get back to normal … we all have to get done. vaccinate, encourage our beloved … friends, colleagues and neighbors to do so. “
Dr Jennifer Morse, medical director of the Mid-Michigan District Health Department, hopes the opening of the clinic will help slow the spread of the virus across the state.
Morse said there is a long list of factors contributing to the rise in Michigan cases.
One example, she said, is the recent lifting of some restrictions.
Whitmer eased restrictions earlier this month, increasing capacity limits at restaurants, retail stores and gyms from 25% to 50% capacity, with a maximum capacity of 100 people per location.
Whitmer told CNN earlier this month his condition had made a lot of headway against the virus but they would remain “tied to the science” while easing restrictions.
Morse said the removal of the restrictions led to the mask being worn improperly. She also said news of emerging vaccines had led people to believe they could relax some of their hygiene habits such as wearing masks.
Morse told CNN that an outbreak of Covid-19 in an Ionia County jail and variant B.1.1.7 also fueled the recent outbreak.
Morse, who noted that the state has administered more than three million doses of the vaccine, said she was concerned that progress in the fight against the virus could be reversed if the upward trend in cases continues.
“My only hope is that we vaccinated very aggressively and worked really well on the different categories of vaccination,” Morse said. “And hopefully that will help keep (the cases) from climbing as quickly as (they) did in the fall.”
Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist shared that hope during Thursday’s announcement at Ford Field.
“At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Detroit was one of America’s epicenters for cases and deaths. And as a Detroiter, I felt it personally after saying goodbye to 27 people because of this virus, ”said Gilchrist, adding that the Ford field site will allocate 1,000 vaccines per day to mobile vaccination units in southeast Michigan. “The virus has hit our city hard, but the Michiganders are tough. We can unite to fight Covid-19.”
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to remove mention of Alabama as one of the many states reporting a significant increase in Covid-19 infections. The state health department said it had recently processed a backlog of more than 4,000 cases dating back to October 1, 2020.
CNN’s Melissa Alonso contributed to this report.
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