Courtesy Image An illustration of the coronavirus provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ALPENA — Public health officials reported more Northeast Michiganders infected with the coronavirus this week than in any other week since early May.

That’s even after local health agencies reduced by one each the number of infected Alpena County residents and the number of infected Alcona County residents because investigation revealed those patients were not residents of the region.

District Health Department No. 4 today reported three newly infected Presque Isle County residents and one newly infected Montmorency County resident. That brings to 14 the number of Northeast Michiganders confirmed infected in the past week.

No other week’s numbers have been higher since 16 newly infected residents were reported the week ending May 4.

As of today, there are 30 actively infected Northeast Michiganders — a measurement of confirmed infections minus recoveries and deaths, according to a News analysis of local health department data. There haven’t been that many actively infected Northeast Michiganders since July 7.

The spike shows a resurgence of the disease as residents spend more time indoors in chilly weather. The weekly number of newly infected Northeast Michiganders has sat in the single digits all summer long, except for one spike to 10 infected residents reported in mid-June.

Still, while hospitalizations have ticked up slightly, they remain exceptionally low, with just 23 coronavirus patients in hospitals across the entire 18-county health care collaboration region that includes Alpena, Presque Isle, and Montmorency counties, according to state data.

Alcona County is grouped into a populous 13-county region that includes Saginaw County; 178 people are hospitalized across that region, the state says.

Seventeen Northeast Michiganders have died after being infected with the virus, but the last death was reported Aug. 20.

Check out a chart showing the spread of the coronavirus in Northeast Michigan. Story continues below chart.

Northeast Michigan numbers since the pandemic hit Michigan in mid-March:

* Positive tests: Alpena County residents, 133; Presque Isle County residents, 39; Montmorency County residents, 21; Alcona County residents, 43.

* Deaths: Alpena County residents, 14; Presque Isle County residents, one; Montmorency County residents, zero; Alcona County residents, two.

* Recoveries: Alpena County residents, 115; Presque Isle County residents, 24; Montmorency County residents, 17; Alcona County residents, 33.

* Tests administered: Alpena County residents, 4,113; Presque Isle County residents, 2,697; Montmorency County residents, 2,041; Alcona County residents, 2,667.

Statewide, 154,688 people have tested positive, of whom 109,539 have recovered as of Saturday and 7,147 of whom have died.