Coronavirus / Covid-19

The November Supply Management Research indicates the West Michigan recession recovery continues at a slow pace. The concern is the surge in COVID-19 cases spurring another round of state-imposed restrictions.

The Michigan Department of health and Human Services has extended the three-week partial shutdown of businesses and schools an extra 12 day to Dec. 20th. The move is designed to slow the surge in COVID-19 cases.

With just under 5,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the state of Michigan, health officials Wednesday expressed “cautious optimism” that things...might be getting better. The promising news came from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services during a press briefing; reporting that cases, hospitalizations, and deaths caused by the coronavirus had either shown improvement or had plateaued since last week.

Dr. Sarah Lyon-Callo is the Director the of Bureau of Epidemiology and Population Health at the MDHHS.

West Michigan road agencies are not only preparing for winter snow storms, but also coordinating staffing and service plans in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.

With a potential COVID-19 vaccine on its way, Kent County Health leaders announced Tuesday that frontline health care workers would be first to receive it, while shedding light on when the general public can expect supplies to become available. The comments came during a virtual town hall Tuesday hosted by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce as the FDA on Thursday is set to review Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine data and potentially give the ok to begin distributing it nationwide.

The organization operating Michigan high school sports expressed disappointment in another delay in finishing the fall season. The Michigan High School Athletic Association says it had provided a plan to complete tournaments in swimming, volleyball and football with no spectators and to resume winter sports practices. But sports are on hold again through at least Dec. 20, along with in-person high school classes, a ban on indoor restaurant dining and other business prohibitions. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says Michigan needs more time to reduce coronavirus cases.

A fight between a private West Michigan school and The Ottawa County Health Department continues, as health officials say it will begin fining parents who refuse to send their kids to class without a mask. Libertas Christian School in West Michigan had been given until Friday to come into compliance with state and local health department requirements, or the Ottawa County Health Department says it would shut the school down again.