Unemployment site down; Health exec: distancing must stay
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's unemployment website and other online services were down on Monday, the first day self-employed workers and independent contractors could start filing claims for benefits under a federal aid package enacted because of the coronavirus pandemic.
An executive at a Detroit-area hospital system, meanwhile, said health care officials worry that as the curve of infections flattens, people will ease off social distancing. The state reported 997 new infections and 115 additional deaths, bringing total cases to 25,635 and deaths to 1,602.
THE LATEST
Caleb Buhs, spokesman for the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget, said state networks and applications were experiencing “performance issues” that have stalled some online services.
“Teams are working diligently to restore service to 100%,” he said. “There is not currently a timeline for restoration.”
Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency has been deluged by people seeking benefits. More than 800,000 filed initial claims over three weeks, second-most in the U.S.
The unemployment website also crashed for a couple of hours nearly two weeks ago. The state again urged residents to file on certain days based on the first letter of their last name and to file in off-peak hours.
FLATTENED CURVE:
City officials said the rate of coronavirus-related deaths is slowing in Detroit.
On Monday, the city reported 6,811 confirmed cases and 391 deaths.
Mayor Mike Duggan told reporters that the number of deaths in Detroit has dropped from a high of 54 in one day to about 22 per day over the three-day Easter holiday weekend.
“We’ve lost another 67 of our neighbors,” Duggan said. “That’s a painful thing for this community, but when you look at the trend lines, we are making enormous progress. There is no question the progress we’re making is because the people in the city of Detroit are honoring the request for social distancing.”
Henry Ford Health System, which has hospitals in metro Detroit and elsewhere, reported a five-day period in which admissions were relatively flat despite an uptick Sunday. Chief operating officer Bob Riney cautioned it does not mean “we've hit or started a decline.”
The health care industry fears people will use the data to ease social distancing or to convince themselves "of a different narrative,” he said.
“There is no evidence to suggest that. ... It's really important that we stay very focused on the power of social distancing so that we can move from a flattening of the curve to an actual decline and coming down the other side," Riney said.
The Republican-led Legislature has criticized Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for extending a stay-home order and adding restrictions.
NURSING HOME CONCERNS:
Of Detroit's deaths over the past three days, eight were patients in nursing homes, said Duggan, The city will test 240 nursing home residents and staff every day over the next 10 days, he said.
Health officials discovered over the weekend that 30% of the residents in one nursing home and 50% in another tested positive for COVID-19, he said.
“Of the patients who weren’t showing any symptoms, nearly 50% of those tested positive,” Duggan said. “You have people who are positive before they’re showing symptoms. ... So, we are going back ... with each individual nursing home to make sure that those who are positive are appropriately isolated.”
TESTING FOR ANTIBODIES
Beaumont Health, the state's largest hospital system, launched what it calls the country's largest serological testing for COVID-19 antibodies. It will largely involve voluntary participation among its 38,000 employees and thousands of affiliated doctors and staff, but also include some patients.
Researchers in part want to know if antibodies protect against a new infection.
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Associated Press writer Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan, contributed to this report.