Genesee County, MI—Since last week, daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Genesee County have doubled, increasing from 150 per day to 300, according to a recent report by the Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions.
Without intervention Genesee County will see a surge similar to fall 2020 COVID-19 counts, which averaged 1,500 weekly, according to the report.
The highest number of cases track from Linden, Fenton, Argentine Township, and Grand Blanc Township. Each had more than 1,200 new COVID-19 cases through March, according to the report.
COVID positivity rates have been on the rise in Michigan and Genesee County since early February.
“They’ve been going up for weeks,” said Debra Furr-Holden, director of the Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions and associate dean for Public Health Integration at Michigan State University.
“February 1, things reopened. And the following week, we started to see an increase in cases and it’s continued since. Anytime you get more people coming in contact with each other, you will see increases in COVID cases. That’s just public health 101,” she said.
Between April 3-April 9, the positivity rate in Genesee County increased from 19.4% to 21.4%, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. This trend is consistent with the state.
FCHES recommends that policymakers produce stronger communications to address the “need for COVID-related health and safety measures” tailored to populations most responsible for the spread. In Genesee County, FCHES reports the spike is mainly attributed to youth aged 19 and under.
As of April 8, 35.2% of Genesee County residents have been vaccinated.
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