BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – As part of the Kalamazoo Region, Branch County is at a “medium high risk” level when it comes to the spread of COVID-19 according to the online MI Safe Start Map.
Branch County is part of the nine-county region in southwest Michigan.
Nearly the entire state is now considered “medium-high risk” except for the northern lower peninsula.
As of last Friday, Branch County was among six counties in Michigan that are facing the risk of an accelerated spread of the virus. The other counties are Lapeer, Cass, Macomb, Gogebic and Menominee.
That information is according to the Harvard Global Health Initiative which developed the metric to measure the level of risks involving COVID-19.
The six counties are coded orange under the formula which means they should consider stay at home orders and/or rigorous test and trace programs.
As of late late week, Branch County had a seven day average of nearly six-and-a-half new cases per day according to the MI Safe Start Map which is above the recommended level is five percent.
On the plus side, no new Branch County cases were reported over the weekend after at least 27 were reported between August 1 and 7. As of Sunday, there have been 331 positive coronavirus cases in Branch County since the first one was reported in late March.
