For The Daily Press

ESCANABA — State COVID-19 data Wednesday showed five new confirmed positives in Delta County and one in Menominee County, as the number of daily coronavirus cases in Michigan begins to rise again.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday posted 3,164 confirmed new confirmed positives in Michigan for a total of 615,792, a rate health officials said is similar to those seen in mid-October. The state, however, added no new deaths to remain at 15,810.

Part of the reason may be the spread of B.1.1.7, a COVID-19 variant that first appeared in the United Kingdom and surfaced in Michigan in January. The state as of Wednesday had recorded 725 cases of the variant, which is 15% of all cases in the U.S. and the second-highest rate behind only Florida, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The Marquette County Health Department announced Tuesday that genetic testing had confirmed a case of the B.1.1.7 variant there, the first identified in the Upper Peninsula.

This variant is concerning because it is thought to spread more easily and quickly, the MCHD said. Compared with the standard SARS-CoV-2 virus, the B.1.1.7 variant is about 50% more transmissible, potentially increasing numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Once the variant has been identified, additional public health efforts are required to slow community spread, the Marquette County Health Department warned, advising social distancing, mask use, hand hygiene and other mitigation strategies, plus getting vaccinated.

The MCHD on Monday said COVID-19 positive cases within Marquette County recently have shown a dramatic spike, nearly tripling within the past week.

“Approximately one third of these new cases have been associated with outbreaks occurring at youth sporting events, church events and child day care environments,” the announcement stated. “To continue to move our communities toward reopening, it is imperative that we all work together to reduce the rate of COVID-19 illness.”

The MDHHS’ coronavirus website Wednesday listed 33 new confirmed cases in the Upper Peninsula: nine in Dickinson County; six in Houghton County; five in Delta County; four in Marquette County; three in Keweenaw County; two in Chippewa County; and one each in Menominee, Ontonagon, Baraga and Luce counties. The state reduced Chippewa County’s death toll by one.

Using only the state’s figures, the Upper Peninsula as of Wednesday has had 16,690 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 391 deaths.

Across the U.P., the MDHHS data site Wednesday had Keweenaw County at 121 confirmed cases and 30 probable, and one death and one probable death; Luce County, 133 confirmed cases and 107 probable, one probable death; Schoolcraft County, 235 confirmed cases and 36 probable, four deaths and one probable; Alger County, 280 confirmed, 158 probable and one death, four probable; Mackinac County, 297 confirmed cases and 156 probable, three deaths; Ontonagon County, 367 confirmed, 56 probable and 20 deaths, one probable; Baraga County, 513 confirmed cases, 103 probable and 33 deaths; Chippewa County, 750 confirmed cases and 1,056 probable, and 24 deaths, four probable; Iron County, 867 confirmed cases and 60 probable, 40 confirmed deaths and nine probable; Gogebic County, 951 confirmed cases and 347 probable, 21 confirmed deaths and 28 probable; Menominee County, 1,631 confirmed cases, 272 probable and 37 deaths, two probable; Dickinson County, 2,153 confirmed cases and 246 probable, 55 confirmed deaths and 15 probable; Houghton County, 2,180 confirmed cases, 536 probable, 31 confirmed deaths and eight probable; Delta County, 2,710 confirmed cases and 494 probable, 66 confirmed deaths and 19 probable; and Marquette County, 3,502 confirmed cases, 534 probable and 55 deaths, one probable. State numbers are updated almost daily but can lag behind local reports or have other discrepancies.