Michigan’s Health and Hospital Association is urging residents to take precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 as the state approaches its highest number of hospitalized patients since the pandemic began.

The state’s hospital association on Monday issued a series of measures including masking up and getting vaccinated against the virus, to help prevent overwhelming hospitalizations. The move comes a year after Michigan faced a similar surge in cases leading up to the winter holidays.

“We are extremely concerned because our best predictions are that COVID-19 patients will continue to increase during the weeks ahead as we enter the yearly flu season,” according to the statement.

Over the previous seven days including Friday, Michigan reported 53,575 new COVID-19 cases, the highest weekly caseload since the pandemic began in March 2020.