(WXYZ) — The number of active cases of COVID-19 has surged in the last month, increasing nearly 82% from the start of March through Wednesday.
That increase coincides with the increase in cases Michigan has seen over the past few weeks, including more than 4,000 new cases announced Wednesday, the highest in months.
According to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there were around 32,400 active cases of COVID-19 on March 1. That hit a low point on Saturday, March 6 with 30,500 active cases. Numbers decrease on Saturdays as the state announces updated recovery numbers.
By March 24, the number of active cases has increased to around 58,900, which is an 81.7% increase since the start of March.
That number is expected to rise as new COVID-19 cases are announced in Michigan.
It's the highest number since mid-February, as the state came down from its winter peak and began slowly opening back up.
The number of active cases since the pandemic began peaked on Dec. 11 when there were around 218,100 active cases of the virus. That was in the middle of the massive winter surge that forced a shutdown.
Last week, the state said it was seeing a concerning rise in COVID-19 cases, and between March 11 and March 18, the state had the fifth-highest rate of new cases in the country.
Michigan also has the second-highest number of cases of the B.1.1.7 variant. As of Wednesday, the CDC said Michigan had 986 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, behind Florida, which was 1,042 cases.
The state also said that about 70% of people were not isolating after they started showing symptoms of COVID-19, a concerning number that could be attributed to the rise in cases.
Michigan is continuing to get the COVID-19 vaccine to people, and on Wednesday, a mass vaccination clinic opened at Ford Field with the goal of vaccinating 6,000 people per day.
As of March 23, there were 3,723,231 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine administered and 2,400,319 residents vaccinated. That's about 29.6% of residents 16 and up, according to state data.
