COVID rates stay low in Detroit students, Tigers Opening Day has arrived, another officer-involved shooting
Of the 341 students to be tested for COVID-19, only two have seen their results come back positive. For a district that was required to screen for the coronavirus in order to resume schooling, it doesn't get much better than a 1% infection rate. On a judge's ruling, summer classes were allowed to resume for Detroit School District as long as the approximately 600 students who are signed up for in-person schooling.
After a four-day break when two tests came back positive, all students that have been screened will be allowed to return Monday. Any students who were not tested may not enter any school building. And the two that did test positive will resume their classes from an online portal.
By the time the district's summer session is up Aug. 6, bus routes will have been disrupted, protesters will have been arrested, and the district will have fended off litigation from activists to remain open. The tensions that led to legal and physical challenges from protesters represent the stark division that many districts around Metro Detroit will eventually have to answer to as they wade into the school year debate.
The question of when and how schools should return to class doesn't really have a good answer at the moment. Some districts like DPSCD have attempted hybridized options that mix in-person learning with virtual sessions - but of course that ran into its own bumps along the way. The path forward for education remains an ambiguous one as its continuation into the fall is most contingent on the state of the pandemic at the time classes resume.
It's tough to dissect where Michigan might even find itself in another month when a decision on how each of the state's districts should reopen will be needed. As it stands right now, the coronavirus has been steadily climbing for the last month-and-a-half. Not anything like the exponential increase that March rocked the state with - but cases have continued to rise.
When cases did begin to rise again, certain kinds of rules went into place. Instead of closing all diners and service businesses down, indoor service at bars was the only part of the business that closed. As the consensus around the airborne transmission of COVID-19 became better understood, face masks became an increasingly popular article to wear to prevent the spread.
On Sunday, health officials reported more than 1,000 new cases. Some of those cases carried over due to a delay in the state's reporting system and its unclear how many belonged on Sunday vs. Saturday. The next week will offer a more robust idea of how effective Michigan was at quelling its second climb in cases.
Empty stadium, no tailgating, more police are just a few Tigers Opening Day changes Monday
There might be police near Comerica Park Monday, but the only traffic they're watching for is any straggling fans that want to celebrate the strangest opening day in years for the Detroit Tigers.
"There will be no additional fan events, the stadium will be closed," said Capt. Jevon Johnson, Detroit Police.
Ironically, that might mean a larger police presence than normal. Parking will be limited around the stadium for security reasons.
That means all the tailgating that fans already shouldn't be doing will definitely not be allowed ahead of the baseball team's first home game of a very abridged Major League Baseball season.
"There is no allowance for tailgating," Johnson said. "Tailgating is illegal. You cannot drink in a parking lot. But especially in times like these, we will be heavily enforcing that."
Restaurants will still offer service to watch the game, but everyone should remember even outings like that come with their own brand of rules.
27-year-old man in custody after officer-involved shooting
Another officer-involved shooting occurred late Sunday when Detroit Police took a 27-year-old man into custody.
The shooting happened around 11 p.m. on the city's west side near Plymouth and Wyoming.
It's not clear what led up to the shooting, but after police hit the man, he was taken to a hospital and is listed in stable condition. A weapon was also recovered from the scene.
27-year-old man in custody after officer-involved shooting on Detroit’s west side
Detroit police have arrested a 27-year-old man who was shot by officers on the city's west side. He's in stable condition and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. The incident took place around 11 p.m. Sunday night near Plymouth and Wyoming.
This is the third police-related shooting in the last month as Detroit's uptick in violent crime resumes.
Daily Forecast
Some storms forecasted for later Monday, but cooler temperatures are on their way for the rest of the week
Many Americans should be getting $1,200 checks in August, Treasury Secretary says
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says Republicans are set to roll out the next COVID-19 aid package on Monday.
Mnuchin assures that the fine-tuned proposal has the support of President Donald Trump. Mnuchin and the White House's acting chief of staff, Mark Meadows, met Saturday on Capitol Hill to salvage the $1 trillion proposal that was abruptly pulled back just days ago.
He said that many Americans should be getting additional $1,200 checks in August.
Mnuchin told reporters at the Capitol that extending an expiring unemployment benefit - but reducing it substantially - is a top priority for Trump.