The rate of Coronavirus cases continues to plunge in Allegan County since peaking in late January, but the death toll continues to climb.

There have been 17 deaths associated with Covid-19 in the past two weeks, but medical officials for some time now have explained that death statistics almost always persist longer than others.

Eight more Allegan County residents lost their lives this past week due to the virus, bringing the two-year pandemic total now to 325, but indications continue to show the disease’s impact is on the decline.

The daily average of new Covid cases over a seven-day period on Jan. 25 was just shy of 200, but that number as of Friday, Feb. 11, showed a significant decrease to just 48.3. The rate of positivity in testing now has dropped slightly over the past week, from 35.2% to 31.3%.

Total hospitalizations since March 2020 are pegged at 424, just six more than the week before, and there have been 26,480 cases reported in Allegan County since the pandemic began. A total of 22,246 people have been identified officially as recovered.

The new Omicron variant has been identified as being much more highly contagious than others, such as Delta. Though it has been dominant since late fall, its threat has been reduced.

All three local school districts have been back into classroom instruction, except for one day when Wayland Middle School had a one-day break Jan. 28 for virtual instruction.