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

ALPENA — Local public health officials in the last seven days reported 63 Northeast Michigan residents with new or probable COVID-19 infections, while the number of vaccinations largely remained stagnant.

The uptick in new or probable COVID-19 infections included 26 Alpena County residents, five Presque Isle County residents, 14 Montmorency County residents, and 18 Alcona County residents.

Since February, Northeast Michigan health officials have reported confirmed and suspected infections as one number. A person counts as a suspected infection if they’d been exposed to a confirmed infected person but hadn’t been tested, themselves — such as family members of infected people.

Officials with District Health Department No. 4 on July 30 were notified of a confirmed Alpena County resident infected with the delta variant of COVID-19.

As of Friday, 56.4% of Alpena County residents 16 or older had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to state data.

The state says 61.1% of Presque Isle County residents, 54.5% of Montmorency County residents, and 56.3% of Alcona County residents have been fully vaccinated.

Public health experts have said we could consider the coronavirus pandemic over once 70% of the population has been vaccinated.

Northeast Michigan public health agencies have stopped reporting the number of people recovered from COVID-19, but, based on federal definitions that consider a person living 30 days after infection to have recovered from the disease, The News estimates 222 Northeast Michiganders were actively infected — and potentially contagious — on Thursday.

A week ago, 165 residents were actively infected.

Other key Northeast Michigan COVID-19 statistics:

∫ As of Monday, two COVID-19 patients were admitted at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena, none of them in intensive care. The hospital was 35% full. State officials watch hospital occupancy rates closely to decide whether to impose new restrictions meant to slow the spread of infection.

∫ Since the pandemic’s start in mid-March 2020, public health officials have reported 4,906 Northeast Michiganders infected or probably infected, and 137 related deaths.

VACCINES

NOTE: The chart shows the percent of Northeast Michiganders 16 and older fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, meaning they’d received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The “target” line above reflects that many public health experts say we can consider the coronavirus pandemic “over” once 70% of the adult population is fully vaccinated.

INFECTIONS, RECOVERIES, AND DEATHS

NOTE: Northeast Michigan public health agencies have reported confirmed and suspected infections as one number since Feb. 18, 2021. A suspected infection represents a person who’d been in close contact with an infected person but hadn’t been tested themselves, such as a person who lives with a person confirmed infected.

Those agencies also stopped tracking recoveries after vaccine rollouts began in earnest in early 2021. The number of recoveries represents a News estimate based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of “recovered” as an infected person still living 30 days after infection.

ACTIVE CASES

NOTE: “Active cases” is a News estimate of the number of currently infected — and potentially contagious — Northeast Michiganders representing cumulative cases minus recoveries and deaths.

HOSPITAL OCCUPANCY

NOTE: One of the primary goals of state-mandated coronavirus restrictions has been to prevent hospitals from being overrun with COVID-19-infected patients, so hospital occupancy rates are a key metric state officials use when deciding whether new restrictions are necessary.

TIMELINE: THE FIRST YEAR

Click through the interactive timeline below for a look at how the coronavirus spread throughout Northeast Michigan in its first year.