COVID19

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Wednesday that gyms will remain closed after a week of legal back and forth between gyms and the state. 

Scott Erskine is an attorney representing the League of Independent Fitness Facilities and Trainers. He says gyms are running out of time and some may be forced to close permanently. 

“The only solace that my clients can really take from the court of appeals decision is the recognition that my clients are suffering and may be forced to pay the ultimate business price by losing their businesses if this continues.”

County clerks are asking the federal government to come up with 40 million dollars so Michigan poll workers can have the personal protective equipment and other supplies they’ll need in August and November. 

State election officials are encouraging Michiganders to vote absentee to avoid possibly spreading the coronavirus.

But Saginaw County Clerk Mike Hanley expects many will still vote in person.

  Ford Motor Co. is burning through cash at an alarming rate due to the coronavirus crisis. But its chief financial officer says there's enough money to get through the year even if U.S. factories aren't restarted. The automaker posted a $2 billion first-quarter net loss Tuesday that it blamed on the virus. It used roughly $2.4 billion to get from January through March. But the cash burn accelerated to $7.7 billion during the first 24 days of April when nearly all of Ford’s factories were shut down and little revenue was coming in.

  Child placement agencies are facing new challenges as the Michigan governor’s stay-at-home order has blocked most birth parents from visiting their children in wake of coronavirus outbreak. The Detroit News reports that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision prompts worry that families providing foster care or completing certification may stop due to health concerns and job loss. Janet Reynolds Snyder is an executive director of the Michigan Federation for Children and Families, a Lansing-based association that has about 60 family support and child welfare service agencies in Michigan tate.

  Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is defending the extension of the state's stay-at-home order as the “best weapon to defeat” the coronavirus in a newspaper opinion piece. Her comments Sunday come as the state reported an additional 41 deaths, for a total of 3,315 in the state. State officials say the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is more than 37,700, including an additional 575 reported Sunday. Whitmer also signed an order to protect consumers and extended another order relaxing medical practice laws to allow physician assistants and nurses to treat COVID-19 patients. 

Republicans who control the Legislature want to dilute the power of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. They say they'll meet Friday to pass bills to rein in Whitmer's emergency powers and create a committee to oversee the state’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. Republicans are unhappy with the breadth of Whitmer’s stay-at-home order, though polling shows the public believes she's made the right calls.

  Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has lengthened her stay-at-home order through May 15 while relaxing restrictions so some businesses can reopen and the public can participate in more outdoor activities like golf and motorized boating.

The measure is designed to help combat the coronavirus pandemic. It immediately replaces one that was scheduled to expire next week.