Covid cases spike up

By Charles Sercombe
If you haven’t noticed, the number of Covid cases is back on the rise in Hamtramck.
In fact, the outbreak in the counties of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Livingston, St. Clair, Chippewa, Mackinac, Emmet, Cheboygan, Antrim, Kalkaska, Grand Travers, Benzie, Manistee and Calhoun has soared to such high numbers that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has re-designated these as high-risk areas.
In the last several weeks, the number of new cases each week in Hamtramck has risen, now nearing triple digits.
Since last week, there have been 94 new cases in the city, according to Wayne County health officials. The prior week there were 34 new cases.
The CDC is saying that there are new variants of Covid-19 that will affect even those already vaccinated — although those who are vaccinated and then catch the Covid bug are far less likely to have severe symptoms.
For the past two years, since the outbreak first began, there have been 4,883 cases reported in Hamtramck. The death rate from the disease has remained steady at 73 for the past several weeks.
The number of Covid infected residents now represents 16.4 percent of the city’s population. The city has almost 30,000 residents.
The CDC is recommending going back to masking up while out in public, and to maintaining social distancing.
While the number of cases has jumped back up, it’s not at the level of last January.
For those who catch Covid and who qualify, you can get a prescription of the antiviral drug Paxlovid to help minimize the chance of hospitalization.
Posted May 20, 2022