Lansing, Michigan – Michigan has become the newest epicenter of coronavirus in the United States, but it’s a mystery why.
“I don’t know what’s going on here. Michigan is just one of the hardest hit,” Scott Niswonger said.
Dr. Meredith Hill, director of the emergency room at Sparrow Hospital, said the increase was more drastic than in the past two weeks. “I think it’s obvious that there’s more community spread right now,” she said.
Niswonger, a COVID-19 patient, said his son could have become infected in his garden. He’s been at Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital since Friday.
“We all went and we were tested and they all came back positive and since then it’s been a downward spiral,” Niswonger said. “I feel like he’s someone, a 500-pound guy who’s just sitting on my chest and I just couldn’t push him.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the latest increase in COVID-19 cases nationwide is led by younger Americans. A theory: a possible connection with the reopening of school and sports after school.
“We find that many outbreaks of youth are related to youth sports and extracurricular activities. According to CDC guidelines, these activities should be limited,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC.
There has also been an increase in variant B.1.1.7 that has appeared in the UK and is now considered responsible for a third of all US cases.
“We know that B.1.1.7 is more transmissible, somewhere between 50-100% more transmissible. Whether it’s more transmissible specifically in different age demographics, we don’t have it yet,” Walensky said.
But there is also good news nationwide. Four million vaccinations were reported on Saturday. At least 23% of US adults are fully vaccinated and 40% have received at least one dose, according to the CDC.
As of Monday, in Michigan, anyone 16 years of age or older can get vaccinated, joining 27 other states in expanding eligibility.
“You’re so excited because a vaccine is being phased out and it’s a little discouraging to see the spread go beyond the vaccine,” Hill said. “We just try to keep each other up and stay as positive as possible.”
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the assignment of a quote about the increase in COVID cases in Michigan to Scott Niswonger, a patient with COVID-19.