Michigan #3 in Confirmed Cases but #14 in Number of People Tested

(UPDATE) Michigan now ranks 11th in the U.S. in the number of people tested for Covid-19 yet #3 in deaths.

On Friday Michigan ranked #16 in the Nation in the number of people tested for Covid-19.  Thankfully, Michigan has double the number of Covid-19 processed tests in the last 3 days.  In fact, we saw a huge increase in testing around the country.  We still need way more, but this is a big step in the right direction.

The most recent data by covidtracking.com as of 7:23 A.M. on April 6th show the following:

Confirmed Cases By State:

1. New York 122,031
2. New Jersey 37,505
3. Michigan 15,718
   
4. California 13,438
5. Louisiana 13,010
6. Massachusetts 12,500
7. Florida 12,151
8. Pennsylvania 11,510
9. Illinois 11,256
10. Washington 7,591

Number of processed Covid-19 Tests by State:

1. New York 302,280
2. California 116,533
3. Florida 113,404
4. Washington 87,918
5. New Jersey 82,166
6. Pennsylvania 77,771
7. Massachusetts 71,937
8. Texas 70,938
9. Louisiana 60,325
10. Illinois 58,983
11. Michigan 45,748

Politico points out Michigan's testing blind spots by saying,

Michigan, which opened its first drive-through testing site this week in the emerging hotspot of Detroit, saw its confirmed case count jump by 1,000 on Monday, and then again on Tuesday. The state ranks third nationally in deaths, with 259, but its per capita testing rate is less than one-third that of New York’s.

Experts tell Weforum.org why testing is important,

Testing is important because asking people with mild symptoms just to stay home will lead to more infections in the household and community. If tested and positive, people can either be isolated in a facility (like in China/Vietnam) or put on strict home isolation (which they are more likely to adhere to if they know they have the virus for sure). When resources are limited and when the healthcare system is overloaded, however, you don’t want a lot of non-sick people coming to health facilities and risking contagion.

There is no uniform system in place and that's a problem.  Testing strategies don't just vary by state.  They vary county to county and sometimes city to city.

For now, Michiganders need to obey the Stay Home, Stay Safe order in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.