Younger age groups fuel massive increase in COVID-19 cases in Michigan

(WXYZ) – With the latest increase in COVID-19 cases and the rise in hospitalizations, doctors at the Detroit metro are hoping this isn’t the start of another major surge.

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The state reported more than 8,200 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, an average of 4,100 per day on Sunday and Monday.

Doctors at Detroit metro hospitals said cases were increasing as restrictions loosen and more people were traveling, but they are seeing positive cases in people under the age of 60.

“If you look at the slope of the cases that we have, we keep going up, so we don’t know where the top of the hill is going to be,” Beaumont doctor Dr. Justin Skrzynski said.

Skrzynski says that since early February, the number of COVID-19 patients has tripled in Beaumont Royal Oak, with a shift to a different age group.

“Right now we’re seeing a much younger population coming in, and by younger we mean maybe 40, 50, as opposed to the 60 or 70 that we were seeing before,” he said.

It’s the same at Henry Ford Hospital. The average age of patients has increased from 65 to 58 years.

“When we look at the age of the people who are hospitalized now, this is not the age group that has been vaccinated so far,” said Dr Adnan Munkarah, clinical director at Henry Ford .

The data can be found on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, which shows that about 2/3 of people over 65 have received at least one dose of the vaccine. For those who are not fully immunized, air travel can be a risk. The TSA said it was on the rise, pushing pre-pandemic levels.

COVID Vaccine Status Dashboard, 3/28

“Now is not the time to give up because the end is near, between the vaccination and the use of these measures, we can get to where we want to go and hopefully come to some kind of normalcy”, Munkarah said.

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