ESCANABA — Delta County had nine confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one death related to coronavirus as of Friday afternoon, according to county officials.

Public Health, Delta and Menominee Counties is aware of 150 specimens from Delta County that had been submitted for coronavirus testing by 12:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10. Nine of these specimens tested positive for COVID-19 (including one death), 114 tested negative, specimens had been submitted from two probable patients, and test results for the remaining 25 specimens were pending.

As some commercial and private labs are now capable of testing for coronavirus, Friday’s press release stated more Delta County residents may have pending tests than the county was aware of. Any providers using a private lab for coronavirus tests were encouraged to submit information to Public Health.

Test results for specimens from Delta County are being processed continually. Because of this, the numbers of cases could change at any time.

Statewide, Michigan officials reported 206 new deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, the state’s highest daily toll since the pandemic began, and a temporary hospital for patients opened in Detroit to ease the pressure on health care providers.

Despite the spike in deaths from the 117 reported Thursday, hospitals in hard-hit southeastern Michigan have been expressing optimism about their caseloads. Henry Ford Health System said the number of coronavirus patients had dropped to 696 from 752 earlier in the week.

Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan did not open a temporary hospital Friday as planned.

“It appears from current COVID-19 cases and modeling that the curve is significantly flattening,” university spokeswoman Mary Masson said. “We are in communication with state officials to coordinate and determine future need.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has extended her stay-at-home order for Michigan residents through April 30.

“We are not out of the woods yet,” Whitmer said on Twitter, as she reported the new deaths, which raised Michigan’s total to 1,282.

At least 25 patients were expected to arrive Friday at Detroit’s convention hall, TCF Center, from area hospitals. It’s equipped with 1,000 beds for people recovering from COVID-19, although that many beds might not be needed.

In suburban Detroit, seven people at a nursing home have died from COVID-19 complications. Rivergate Terrace in Riverview said 21 residents tested positive and 11 remain in hospitals. Fifteen staff members also tested positive and were recovering at home.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the friends and loved ones of the patients who have passed away. The safety and well-being of our residents will remain our highest priority,” Sujata Chaddha, interim executive director, said in a written statement.

Bill Nowling, a spokesman for the Wayne County executive, said roughly 8% of the county’s coronavirus cases, excluding Detroit, have been at nursing homes.

The state Department of Health and Human Services this week expanded who is prioritized for testing to include those who can still go to work in person under Whitmer’s stay-home measure. They must have symptoms. The state also clarified to labs that priority should go to all health care employees with symptoms — not just those providing direct care — and to people displaying symptoms in long-term facilities such as dorms, prisons and homeless shelters.

The change “will help to improve access to COVID-19 testing and begin to ameliorate challenges experienced by providers and individuals in the application of otherwise stricter prioritization criteria,” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive, wrote in a memo.