Fourteen more Covid-19-related deaths have been reported over the last week in Allegan County, bringing the cumulative total to 257 since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The rate of positivity in testing now is 22.7 percent, well above the 3% health officials cite as manageable and about the same as the first week of December. The daily average of new Covid cases over seven days now is 61.6, much lower than the sky-high figure of 143.7 indicated on Nov. 19.

Total hospitalizations since March 2020 are pegged at 398 and there have been 19,612 cases reported since the pandemic began. A total of 14,797 people have been identified officially as recovered, the same total as a week ago.

All school districts now are on holiday break until Jan. 3, but health officials have indicated they are worried about more Covid spikes that can result from indoor family gatherings over Christmas.

In Allegan County, an estimated 79.1% of COVID-19 hospitalizations are among unvaccinated individuals.