(Illustration: U.S. Centers for Disease Control)
State authorities believe there have been a subtantial number of probable Covid cases that resulted in death without testing positive. To date, the official tally is 5,595.
But that figure is expected to grow substantially when the state health department publishes its count of probable deaths, Melissa Nann Burke and Karen Bouffard of The Detroit News reports.
Public health experts say the official figure is likely an undercount, and adding the presumptive deaths would be more accurate.
The first two Michigan cases were officially confirmed the night of March 10, one hour after polls closed for the Michigan presidential primary. State authorities have since said there were earlier cases than that, which went undetected at the time.
The count of probable deaths "provides a more complete picture about how COVID-19 has impacted the state," says Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
