Covid-19

A return to school masking and timely COVID data reporting are among new demands from a Michigan parent group.

The United States this week marked a grim milestone, announcing one million Americans have now died from COVID-19.

COVID-19 case numbers are rising again, but experts say that due to the prevalence of rapid home tests there are likely many more cases than reported. One indicator is the statewide test positivity rate, which is now averaging above 16%.

Indiana surpassed 1.7 million confirmed cases following its dashboard update Wednesday, adding its most recent 100,000 new cases over the last four months.

COVID hospitalizations climbed nearly 20% in the past week and are picking up speed, thanks to the BA.2 subvariant. But this time, health officials think we'll see a rise in cases, without a big jump in severe illness or death.

Michigan health officials are projecting COVID-19 cases will roughly double in late April through early May. That's due to the increased transmissibility of the omicron BA.2 subvariant. But that would still be a relatively modest uptick, and it's not expected to mean a lot more deaths or hospitalizations.

Beacon Health has received almost $5 million to improve vaccine outreach in minority communities.

The concentration of COVID-related genes found in wastewater is considered an early indicator of where COVID infections are heading. The latest data from the state's 20 "sentinel sites" show concentrations rising in 13 of them.

In close to half of Michigan's counties, new COVID cases are rising. The numbers are still low, but health officials recommend preparing in case it's the beginning of another surge.

A set of federal waivers have gotten free meals to students since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The waivers are set to expire June 30th, but school lunchrooms and some lawmakers want to extend them through next school year.