The Coronavirus remains persistent in its presence in Allegan County, as well the entire nation this month.

The Allegan County Health Department reported Friday that nine more patients have died this week from the Covid-19 virus since Monday, bringing the total since mid-December to 305. A week ago, on Jan. 14, that figure was 290.

The daily average of new Covid cases over a seven-day period now is 178.4 and increase over the 130.9 announced last Monday. It is significantly greater than Dec. 29 when the daily average was just 51.1.

The rate of positivity in testing now is 32.1 percent much higher than the 25.6% reported last Monday and well above the 3% health officials have cited as manageable.

Total hospitalizations since March 2020 are pegged at 412 and there have been 23,955 cases reported in Allegan County since the pandemic began. A total of 19,739 people have been identified officially as recovered.

The most recent jump in number of cases can be attributed to the new Omicron variant, which much more highly contagious than others, such as Delta.

With the spread increasing rapidly, the Martin school district and Wayland High School called off in-person instruction for all of this week, opting instead for virtual instruction via the Internet.