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

ALPENA — The coronavirus is roaring back into Northeast Michigan as the number of infected Northeast Michiganders shot up and more ended up in the hospital while vaccination rates remained stagnant.

In the seven-day period ending Friday, local public health agencies reported 229 newly infected or probably infected Northeast Michiganders, raising to more than 500 the number of actively infected residents of the region. That number was in the 30s as recently as July 23.

The News estimate of active infections is based on the number of infected Northeast Michiganders minus those who meet the federal definition of recovered, meaning still living more than 30 days after getting infected.

Three more Northeast Michiganders — one each from Alpena, Presque Isle, and Alcona counties — died in the past week after getting infected with COVID-19, public health agencies said.

And the Alpena hospital reported 10 COVID-19 patients, one of whom was in intensive care, leaving the hospital 53% full, according to state data. When that data last updated Aug. 30, the hospital had only one COVID-19 patient.

Meanwhile, as of Friday, about 58% of Alpena County residents 16 or older had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to state data. That number has stayed mostly stagnant for weeks.

Public health experts have said we could consider the coronavirus pandemic over once 70% of the population has been vaccinated. They say the virus is mutating and spreading mostly among those unvaccinated, though vaccines could lose their effectiveness if the virus is allowed to continue spreading and mutating.

The state says 62% of Presque Isle County residents, 56% of Montmorency County residents, and 57% of Alcona County residents have been fully vaccinated.

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.

Since the pandemic’s start in mid-March 2020, public health officials have reported 5,226 Northeast Michiganders infected or probably infected, and 143 related deaths.