Coronavirus

More than a thousand residents of Muskegon Heights and Flint lined up for free COVID-19 testing over the Memorial Day weekend.

The Michigan National Guard teamed up with local health departments to set up the special drive-thru testing centers over the three day weekend.

Across Michigan Monday, Memorial Day observances are different from past years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, the sound of taps mixed with birdsong during a Memorial Day ceremony.

Normally, thousands of people come to honor the nation’s fallen servicemen and women in Holly.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer is extending Michigan’s Safer at Home order until June 12. She’s also extending the state of emergency declaration until June 19.

The governor made the announcement as part of a late afternoon flurry of announcements on Friday related to the COVID-19 pandemic and flooding orders.

A study from the Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of California Berkeley ranks Michigan as its fourth most racially disparate states when it comes to COVID-19 deaths. Michigan ranks sixth in racial disparities in COVID-19 infection rates.

The study shows an interactive heat tracking map of racial disparities from state to state. The map looks at the racial makeup of the population, and then how that population is represented in the rates of COVID infection and deaths. For example, in Michigan, U.S. Census data shows black people make up 14% of the state's population, but account for 32% of COVID cases and 41% of COVID related deaths.

The city of Detroit is ramping up COVID-19 testing, with a focus on testing ‘at-risk’ seniors. Since May 1, 84% of Detroiters who've died from the disease have been over the age of 60.

Because of that, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says the city wants more senior citizens tested for the coronavirus.

The legal battle by a Michigan barber against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 orders escalated Wednesday.

State regulators suspended Karl Manke’s professional license and pulled his barbershop license on Wednesday. 

Revenues are down sharply at Detroit’s casinos, due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Detroit’s three casinos shut their doors March 16th as part of the state's efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

A longtime leader in Michigan’s business community is predicting it'll take a while for Michigan’s economy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doug Rothwell is the president of Business Leaders for Michigan and a former head of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. 

On a webinar produced by the Detroit Regional Chamber, Rothwell predicted Michigan’s economy will not have a quick 'V-shaped’ recovery.

The United States Marshals Service, in conjunction with the Michigan State Police, is offering a reward up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of two men who are suspects in the shooting death of a security guard in Flint on May 1. The U.S. Marshals are working with the MSP to locate the suspects.

Michigan health officials say they have 3,500 volunteers trained to do COVID-19 contact tracing, one of the things considered essential to reopening the economy safely. And although those state officials can’t say how many paid staffers Michigan counties have doing this work, Michigan Radio’s analysis of three of the hardest-hit counties indicates the pool of volunteers is likely enough to meet epidemiologists’ recommendations.

The state of Michigan is modifying rules for how hospitals and funeral homes handle human remains in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past, the state just required hospitals and funeral homes make a “reasonable effort” to contact family members before turning to the local medical examiner to decide what to do with the remains.

Tuesday’s election is going to be unique in Michigan history.

As part of the effort to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, there will be no polling locations open for in-person voting on Election Day.

Instead, the May 5 election will be mainly handled with “mail-in” voting.

Michigan school districts will soon be allowed to apply for millions of dollars of federal aid tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $13.2 billion Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund is meant to address the impact the COVID-19 public health crisis has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the United States. ESSER funding was included as part of the $2 trillion federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 

A law firm in Grand Rapids says more than 1,000 doctors at the area’s largest hospital are being forced to sign new contracts, or face salary cuts.

A recent battle between Michigan’s Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders over who has the authority to guide the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak is likely at a point of no return. 

This week, Republican lawmakers refused to agree to the governor’s call to extend the state of emergency. Legislative leaders say they plan on taking the governor to court over her authority to issue new executive orders to combat COVID-19.

On Wednesday, a judge denied a legal challenge to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay home order.

Whitmer issued the initial stay home order in March with the intent to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slammed Ford Motor Company’s bottom line.

Company officials announced on Tuesday Ford lost $2 billion in the first quarter of the year. Ford blamed the loss largely on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The automaker said Tuesday that its revenue from January through March fell nearly 15% to $34.3 billion as most of its factories were shut down for the final week of the quarter.

Ford’s Chief Financial Officer Tim Stone expects the automaker will take an even bigger hit in the second quarter of 2020.

One of Michigan’s U.S. Attorneys has been chosen to oversee federal investigations into state and local anti-COVID-19 measures to determine if they cross the constitutional line.

Attorney General William Barr issued a two-page memo on Monday to U.S. attorneys, saying the department would pursue action in court, if necessary.

Many states have issued orders compelling residents to stay home, with limited exceptions like essential trips for food and other supplies to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

Matthew Schneider is the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. 

U.S. Attorney General William Barr picked Schneider  to coordinate with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Eric Dreiband to coordinate Justice Department investigations into possible “infringement of constitutional and statutory protections” by state and local governments.   

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued a new COVID-19 executive order. This order sets rules to help manage the re-opening of some businesses and recreational activities.

The new order requires retail stores to set aside special shopping hours for people over 60, pregnant women, and people with health conditions at higher risk if infected by the virus. Employees must be issued face masks. Salad bars and self-serve food stations are not allowed. People must also still remain at least six feet apart.

Monday, the city of Detroit will issue a public health order mandating grocery store workers be tested for coronavirus by May 11.

A new report suggests restarting Michigan’s economy will face a serious roadblock – a lack of child care.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children estimates that 41% of Michigan’s licensed child care slots will be lost as many providers don’t have the money or staff to reopen.

People in Grand Rapids will get their first look this week at the city’s projected budget for the coming year.

City manager Mark Washington is scheduled to update commissioners on the city commission Tuesday morning, and there’s a digital town hall scheduled for residents on Thursday night.

The new fiscal year starts in July.

The number of Michiganders who have officially “recovered” from COVID-19 has more than doubled in the past week

State health official released data Saturday showing the number of recovered cases has risen to 8,342.  The state listed 3,237 “recovered” cases last Saturday and 433 two weeks ago.

The city of Detroit is teaming up with investment banking giant Goldman Sachs to provide up to $15 million in loans to Detroit small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

David Solomon is the Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs. He says small businesses have perhaps never been at more risk.

Michigan’s greenhouse retail industry hopes to hear sooner rather than later if Governor Gretchen Whitmer will allow them to reopen May 1st.

Most, if not all, greenhouses closed because of the governor’s Stay Home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when Easter and spring sales start to ramp up.

A federal district judge has ordered Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard to take steps to protect inmates housed at the jail from the coronavirus.

American Civil Liberties Union Attorney Phil Mayor says the lawsuit was filed because the jail has been exposing inmates to unsafe, inhumane, and degrading conditions.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the state is ramping up contact tracing for positive cases of COVID-19. That involves monitoring and testing people who have been in contact with a positive case. 

Michigan families who are owed child support will start receiving money this week tied to federal pandemic stimulus payments.

“The Office of Child Support wants to make sure parents understand what is happening with stimulus payments to people who owe child support,” said Erin Frisch, director of the state Office of Child Support in a written statement.   

The money is coming from stimulus payments earmarked for non-custodial parents who owe back child support.

Starting Monday, the city of Detroit is offering COVID-19 testing for essential workers who do not have symptoms of the disease.

Mayor Mike Duggan says the state fairgrounds drive-thru testing site has more capacity now that surrounding counties have expanded their own testing.