COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – While the COVID-19 numbers have gone down sharply in recent weeks, Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency Health Officer Rebecca Burns told the Branch County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday that the county has risen to the highest number of COVID-19 infection rates in the State of Michigan.
That’s according to Tuesday’s statistics provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
There was a spike of 15 new Branch County cases that were reported last Tuesday. Eight new cases on Tuesday brought the seven day average number of cases to 4-point-3.
Burns said there is a lot of work to do in Branch County in order to get the number of vaccinations up.
According to M.D.H.H.S. data, about 42 percent of Branch County residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19 while nearly 62 percent of those 16 and over in the State of Michigan have been vaccinated against the virus.
Burns plans to bring people together this week to brainstorm ways of encouraging more people to get vaccinated.
Burns reported last week that four cases of the highly contagious Delta variant have been found in Branch County.
She could not explain the low vaccination numbers in Branch County but Burns pointed out there has been a lot of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines.
She also said there has been a lot of frustration with the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks and being told what to do.
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