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Dr. Khaldun: If things don't change, we could see 100 COVID-19 deaths per day by December

Posted at 2:08 PM, Nov 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-05 14:08:23-05

LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state's chief medical executive, said Michigan could see 100 or more deaths per day from COVID-19 by the end of December if we don't change our behaviors.

Khaldun said it during a press conference with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday afternoon.

The last time the state reported 100 or more deaths from COVID-19 in a single day was on April 30 with 101 deaths. The highest one-day death total was on April 16 with 164 deaths.

The state also reported today a record high in the number of single-day cases with 5,710.

SEE MORE: Michigan reports record-breaking number of new COVID-19 cases

SEE MORE: WATCH: 'We have a common enemy. It is COVID-19.'

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Khaldun said the 7-day average for deaths is at 19 per day.

The state also said that nearly half of the positive cases the state is identifying have no idea how they got the virus.

In all, according to Khaldun, there are 590 outbreaks across the state in various forms.

The overall case rate is 261 cases per million people per day, and testing is still going well. The state's percentage of positive tests is now at 7.5%.