(WXYZ) — All of the updates on the coronavirus and the incredible impact it's having on our lives can be hard to keep up with. To help you keep up, we'll post this daily blog on our homepage. You can find all of our stories on our coronavirus page.
8:21 p.m.
The Michigan Court of Claims Wednesday sided with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer saying that the stay-at-home order does not infringe on the constitutional rights of residents.
The lawsuit, brought by plaintiff Steve Martinko and others, claimed that Whitmer's initial Stay Home, Stay Safe order amid the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the recently adjusted version of the order, violated Michigan residents' rights.
The plaintiff's in the case claimed that the "mandatory quarantine," along with interstate travel restrictions listed in an earlier version of the order, violated their rights to both procedural due process and substantive due process.
“But those liberty interests are, and always have been, subject to society’s interests – society being our fellow residents," Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray said while delivering his opinion. "They – our fellow residents – have an interest to remain unharmed by a highly communicable and deadly virus, and since the state entered the Union in 1837, it has had the broad power to act for the public health of the entire state when faced with a public crisis.” More here.
3:52 p.m.
The Michigan Mortuary Response Team has been activated for the first time in an effort to help health care facilities and funeral homes in the state with the surge of human remains due to the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday.
MI-MORT, which was established 10 years ago, consists of 40 volunteers from across the state, including medical examiners, law enforcement, forensic scientists, chaplains and funeral directors.
The team will provide "safe and secure transfer, identification and storage of human remains until funeral homes can help families make plans," state officials say. More here.
2:50 p.m.
There are now 3,670 deaths and 40,399 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Michigan, according to new numbers released from the State of Michigan.
2:23 p.m.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Wednesday a $130 million investment to make child care affordable and accessible during the coronavirus pandemic.
The state created the "Child Care Relief Fund" to provide direct, non-competitive grants to child care providers.
The funds help ensure:
- Child care providers currently serving essential workers remain open, and costs associated with providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic are not passed on to essential workers.
- Child care providers can stay afloat during the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” state of emergency.
- Child care is more affordable to families now, and as our economy begins to reopen.
- Child care providers across the state have the resources needed to reopen for Michigan’s workforce when the recovery process of the current COVID-19 pandemic begins and more families are in need of child care options.
9:18 a.m.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will provide another update on the state's response to coronavirus on Monday afternoon.
Whitmer will be joined by MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Jeff Donofrio and President of the Michigan AFL-CIO Ron Bieber.
8:50 a.m.
The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record.
The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, posted a quarterly drop for the first time in six years. Click here.
4:48 a.m.
More than a million people in Michigan have filed unemployment claims due to COVID-19. If you just lost your job and your health insurance, here are a few options.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
Read our daily Coronavirus Live Blog for the latest updates and news on coronavirus.
Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Michigan, a timeline of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Southeast Michigan, and links to more information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and the WHO.
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
Find out how you can help metro Detroit restaurants struggling during the pandemic.
See all of our Helping Each Other stories.
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.