For The Mining Gazette

HOUGHTON — State COVID-19 data Tuesday showed virus activity dropped in Houghton County in the past week while remaining at low levels in Baraga and Keweenaw counties.

Houghton County had only nine confirmed positives since Dec. 13, a dozen fewer cases than a week ago. Michigan Technological University in Houghton officially ended its fall semester Friday.

Baraga County had 16 new confirmed positives, down one from the previous week, while Keweenaw County again had only one new case reported. None of the counties recorded a new death blamed on COVID-19.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus website Tuesday added 200 confirmed positives since Dec. 13 to the Upper Peninsula’s tally: 38 in Marquette County; 31 in Gogebic County; 26 in Delta County; 22 in Iron County; 21 in Dickinson County; 16 in Baraga County; 14 in Menominee County; nine in Schoolcraft and Houghton counties; eight in Chippewa County; two in Alger County; and one apiece in Keweenaw, Mackinac, Ontonagon and Luce counties.

The state listed a new confirmed death in Delta and Chippewa counties; Marquette County’s toll was reduced by one.

Using only the MDHHS figures, the Upper Peninsula as of Tuesday has had 62,236 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 951 confirmed deaths since pandemic tracking began in March 2020.

Across the U.P., the MDHHS data Tuesday had Keweenaw County at 576 confirmed cases and 67 probable, and 14 confirmed deaths and one probable death; Luce County, 763 confirmed cases and 875 probable, 16 confirmed deaths and four probable deaths; Ontonagon County, 1,167 confirmed, 138 probable and 41 deaths, three probable; Alger County, 1,261 confirmed, 817 probable and eight deaths, 10 probable; Schoolcraft County, 1,344 confirmed cases and 816 probable, 14 deaths and four probable; Mackinac County, 1,930 confirmed cases and 990 probable, 33 deaths and five probable; Baraga County, 2,081 confirmed cases, 441 probable and 56 deaths, two probable; Iron County, 3,059 confirmed cases and 396 probable, 82 deaths and 17 probable; Gogebic County, 3,522 confirmed cases and 676 probable, 44 deaths and 32 probable; Chippewa County, 4,094 confirmed cases and 5,950 probable, and 98 deaths, 19 probable; Menominee County, 4,736 confirmed cases, 2,141 probable and 64 deaths, 13 probable; Dickinson County, 6,116 confirmed cases and 3,079 probable, 101 deaths and 25 probable; Houghton County, 8,127 confirmed cases, 1,231 probable, 93 deaths and 12 probable; Delta County, 8,959 confirmed cases and 3,198 probable, 144 deaths and 35 probable; and Marquette County, 14,501 confirmed cases, 4,087 probable and 143 deaths, 17 probable. State figures can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.

The MDHHS on Tuesday had 14,323 new confirmed and probable coronavirus positives in Michigan since Dec. 13, or an average of about 2,046 cases per day for the seven-day period, for a total of 2,977,727 cases since COVID tracking began. The state since Dec. 13 added 149 confirmed and probable deaths attributed to the virus to reach 40,657.

The state updates COVID-19 data once a week, usually on Tuesdays.