MANISTEE COUNTY — Manistee County had its first COVID-19 death, according to the District Health Department #10 on Friday.

More information such as the person’s age, was not immediately available as of press time on Friday afternoon.

Manistee County has seen 37 confirmed cases and eight probable cases of COVID-19 as of Friday.

Of the cases in the county, 20 were listed as female and 17 were male. Most cases in the county involve people aged 50-59.

The District Health Department #10 shows that the county has 26 cases listed as recovered.

According to the DHD#10 heatmap, it appears that Brown Township, Arcadia Township and Marilla Townships had higher rates than the rest of the county.

But overall, the county has fewer higher rate areas compared with neighboring Mason County’s southern townships that border Oceana County where there are a number of townships with high rates.

A STATEWIDE LOOK

Here are some quick facts from the latest Michigan Department of Health and Human Services report.

• There were 91,140 cases and 6,300 deaths statewide during the pandemic.

• This is an increase of 748 cases and 11 deaths since the previous update.

• Case counts are cumulative and are not reduced due to recoveries.

NEIGHBORS AND THE REGION

• Manistee’s neighboring Grand Traverse County reported 210 cases and five deaths.

• Wexford County reported 59 cases and four deaths.

• Benzie County has seen 31 cases and one death.

• Lake County has seen 26 cases.

• Mason County has seen 93 cases.

• All counties in the state have reported cases of COVID-19.

• Most cases in the northern Lower Peninsula could be found in Grand Traverse County. However, Alpena County leads northern Michigan with deaths at 13.

According to the latest data from the state’s tracking of personal protective equipment and hospital beds, the Munson Health System, which Munson Healthcare Manistee Hospital is a part of, lists two COVID-19 patients, two in the intensive care unit and a 64.7% bed occupancy. While it is the most updated information, it is dated to Monday.

According to Munson Healthcare’s COVID-19 data, the Manistee hospital has tested 1,356 people with 26 showing positive. It’s important to note that positive cases are reported for the county that a person resides in.

There were 17 pending tests.

Manistee County is considered part of region 7 for tracking by the state.

Region 7 includes: Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Benzie, Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Oscoda, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Emmet and Charlevoix counties.

The region has 11 COVID-19 patients hospitalized,one on a ventilator and eight in intensive care.

According to the state, there have been 63,636 recoveries from COVID-19. This information was published by the state on Aug. 7 and is updated weekly.

Recovery numbers show that a person is alive after 30 days from the onset of testing or onset of symptoms.

CONTACT TRACING

Contact tracing is being conducted in the state to track where cases are, how the spread can be slowed and who may be affected.

In the case of a confirmed or suspected infection, public health staff reach out and ask about close contacts a person has had during the time they may have been infectious.

The calls are considered confidential and tracers are expected to protect the privacy of patients and contacts.

“They don’t give the name of the patient, only that they may have been exposed to someone with the infection,” reads part of the state’s description of contact tracing. “If you have been exposed to coronavirus, you’ll be asked to stay safe at home and keep a social distance from others (at least 6 feet) for 14 days after your last exposure. If you have symptoms of infection, you’ll likely be asked to get tested. A contact tracer will check in during your self-quarantine.”

THE U.S. AND GLOBAL PICTURE

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the first confirmed case in the U.S. was reported Jan. 22.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. leads the globe by far in number of cases total and deaths.

The latest numbers from the CDC as of press time Friday show the U.S. reported 5.2 million cases and 166,317 deaths from COVID-19.

The U.S. is followed by Brazil for the number of cases and deaths for the highest counts globally.

According to reporting by the Associated Press, most people with COVID-19 have mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are among those particularly susceptible to more severe illness, including pneumonia.