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

ALPENA — COVID-19 cases have risen again in Northeast Michigan after a brief lull, but public health officials said they don’t expect a sharp spike in infections and do expect hospitalizations and deaths to remain low.

Public health officials this week reported 61 newly infected or probably infected Northeast Michiganders, the same number reported last week. Both weeks’ totals are up from 19 newly infected Northeast Michiganders the week before last and 17 the week before that.

The two straight weeks with dozens of new infections is still down significantly from February, when officials reported hundreds of new infections each week for several weeks in a row.

In a statement Thursday, District Health Department No. 4 said the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is monitoring the spread of a subvariant of the coronavirus but expect only “a small rise of COVID-19 cases in Michigan to occur in the coming weeks, with a peak in cases expected to occur in early May.”

The chart below shows the number of newly infected Northeast Michiganders reported by local health departments each week. NOTE: The health departments have occasionally adjusted numbers downward as data is reviewed, meaning new cases sometimes show as a negative number. The story continues below the graphic.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still considers Northeast Michigan an area of low risk for coronavirus infection.

State health officials expect a only a small rise in hospitalizations and deaths because of the relatively high number of vaccinated Michiganders, according to the District Health Department No. 4 statement. Still, officials warn “there will likely be increased risk of illness for all residents, especially those who are elderly or immunocompromised.”

In Northeast Michigan, deaths have gone up recently, with public health officials reporting last week eight Northeast Michiganders had died after contracting COVID-19, compared to just seven deaths in the entire month prior. Again, that figure is lower than the winter months, when the number of weekly new deaths often hit the double digits.

No Northeast Michiganders died this week after contracting COVID-19, according to public health officials.

The chart below shows the number of new COVID-19-related deaths reported each week by local public health departments. The story continues below the graphic.

Hospitalizations remain relatively low in Northeast Michigan, too, with six COVID-19 patients admitted at MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena as of Monday, though that is up from four patients last week and two the week before that. One COVID-19 patient was in intensive care on Monday.

Those figures, too, remain lower than the winter months, when the number of COVID-19 patients at the Alpena hospital often hit double digits.

The chart below shows the number of COVID-19 patients admitted at MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena. The story continues below the graphic.

As of April 13, among those 5 and older, the state says 58% of Alpena County residents, 63% of Presque Isle County residents, 57% of Montmorency County residents, and 59% of Alcona County residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The state did not update vaccination rates this week because of technical issues, according to the state’s online vaccination dashboard.

The chart below shows the number of Northeast Michiganders 5 and older fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The story continues below the graphic.

The number of new infections could be higher than reported, as the data doesn’t account for any positive results from home testing not reported to local public health departments. It also doesn’t account for asymptomatic people who never take a test but could still spread the disease.

Since February 2021, Northeast Michigan health officials have reported confirmed and probable infections as one number. A person counts as a probable infection if they’d been exposed to a confirmed infected person and are showing symptoms 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 11,247 Northeast Michiganders infected or probably infected, and 287 related deaths.

In its statement, District Health Department No. 4 listed several options for residents to help prevent or treat COVID-19 infection:

* KN95 Masks and COVID-19 self-tests are available for pickup at all District Health Department No. 4 offices during business hours 8 a.m. to noon and to 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

* Residents can order their own test kits for free by going to covid.gov/tests or accesscovidtests.org, subject to availability and eligibility requirements.

* Residents can visit solvhealth.com for more information on testing resources or to find the testing site closest to them.

* District Health Department No. 4 continues to have COVID-19 vaccination and booster clinics. Call 800-221-0294 to make an appointment.

* The Health Department urges those infected with COVID-19 to ask their doctor about COVID-19 therapeutics to help treat the infection.

* Those quarantining and in need of masks or test kits should call District Health Department No. 4 ahead of their visit and staff will bring the requested resources out to the visitor’s vehicle.