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Pandemic news updates will be added though Tuesday evening.
Sad sight behind hospitals
Refrigerated truck trailers that usually carry food increasingly are used for Metro Detroit pandemic victims.
Mobile morgues are parked near loading docks behind Sinai-Grace Hospital and Henry Ford hospitals in Detroit, Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, and county morgues in Detroit and Pontiac, the Free Press says in a roundup on "refrigerated trucks for the dead."
"We have had to find a temporary solution to navigate the sudden increase in mortality and ease the burden on funeral homes that are not equipped to handle this," Dr. Betty Chu, associate chief clinical officer at Henry Ford Health System, tells the paper.
Thanks, but . . .
University of Michigan hospitals and clinics cpould use surgical masks, but not thousands from the federal government. They "are not usable and have had to be removed from Michigan Medicine's inventory," Bridge Magazine reports.
Mary Masson, a spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor-based health system, said a shipment of 22,000 ear-loop surgical masks arrived last week from the federal stockpile, which was created to boost state and local supplies during public health emergencies.
About 2,000 of the masks were distributed to health care workers, Masson said, but "we found them to be less durable and so have removed as many as possible from inventory and are not distributing the rest. "We found enough problems with the shipment that we didn’t want to use the remaining ones."
One-fourth of workforce idle
More 1 million Michiganians have filed for unemployment, the state announces. That's one-quarter of the state's workforce and the third-largest number claims nationally after California and Pennsylvania.
Starting this week, those who are self-employed, independent contractors, low-wage workers or gig workers can apply. The site for all applicants is here.
Up to 53 weeks of benefits may be payable under state and federal extensions. Eligibility requirements are here.
Turn liquor cache into cash
Bars and restaurants can convert unopened booze into bucks.
The governor gives the Michigan Liquor Control Commission permission to buy back gin, vodka, whiskey, liqueurs and other spirits bought before March 16 by the 8,500 businesses with on-premises liquor licensees. Full-price refunds are intended to "help our bars and restaurants ... weather the storm through this challenging time," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says.
Merchants have until 5 p.m. this Friday to fill out a request form that will be posted here.
Other developments, briefly:
(U.S. Centers for Disease Control)
♦ Cover your face: Every Oakland County business employee who has direct customer contact or handles items for sale must wear a mask, starting April 27 at the latest. That's a new emergency order from the county health department.
♦ Food handout sites: Forgotten Harvest distributes food item this week at churches, schools and other sites listed here.
♦ Don't sweat lapsed car permits: You can't be ticketed for a recently expired driver's license or registration. Ones that were valid March 1 or later are good through June 30 under a new order from the governor that also applies to state ID cards.
"In times of crisis and uncertainty, the last thing you want to think about is having to renew your driver’s license or state ID card," the governor acknowledges.
Cover for 1981 single
♦ Anthem for our time: An enduring pop song serves as a battle cry for coronavirus patients. "Don't Stop Believin'," the 1981 Journey hit heard during Detroit Red Wings games, is played over Henry Ford Hospital speakers in Detroit, Wyandotte and Clinton Township as Covid patients are taken off ventilators or go home.
"The song is a sign of hope, a reminder to patients to never give up," registered nurse Veronica Hall of Henry Ford's main site tells The Detroit News. It's also "a motivational thank-you to tired, never-stop-trying team members," she adds.
Beaumont Health in Royal Oak plays the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" when lung virus victims improve or leave. At Henry Ford Allegiance in Jackson, according to The News, "patients who have triumphed over coronavirus have departed for the past three weeks to Katrina & the Waves' 'Walking On Sunshine.'"
