(WXYZ) — The number of adults and children hospitalized with COVID-19 saw a large increase to start the new year, according to the latest data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Coming off the holiday, the state said there were 4,232 adults hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. That's an increase of 3,862 that was reported on Dec. 29.
For kids, there are 107 hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. That's an increase of 78 reported on Dec. 29.
Metro Detroit's two regions have the largest number of adults and children hospitalized.
Region 2 south, which includes, Detroit, Wayne, Monroe and Washtenaw counties, has 66 children with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the hospital. Region 2 north, which is Macomb, Oakland and St. Clair counties, has 11 children with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the hospital.
Last week, the state reported a record number of daily COVID-19 cases – an average of 12,929 per day. That's nearly 3,000 more cases than the previous record of 9,779 set in November 2020.
The highly-transmissible omicron variant is responsible for the surge in cases.