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Mayor Duggan addresses 'concerning' COVID-19 trend for Detroit

Updated  July 9, 2020 11:53pm EDT
Coronavirus in Michigan
FOX 2 Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit mayor Mike Duggan says the city has made extraordinary progress in the fight against COVID-19. Though Thursday he held a press conference to address a concerning trend with new cases. 

"We're starting to see some early signs of trends that are concerning," Duggan said. "You go back a few weeks we were basically seeing 10 new cases a day. The last week or so it's been 20 or 30."

Mayor Duggan reminds Detroiters to continue social distancing, wearing masks

Detroit mayor Mike Duggan held a press conference July 9 to remind Detroiters to continue social distancing and wear a mask amid a slight increase in cases in the city.

Mayor Duggan says the number of COVID-19 cases is higher in the suburbs and other parts of the state, and that's why he wants Detroiters to understand the solution to getting back on track is simple.

"80% of this is wear a mask," he said.

It was wearing a mask and proper social distancing that let Detroit take the lead in the fight against COVID-19.

"Detroit is a national model for having dealt with COVID-19," Duggan also said. "We were losing upwards to 250 people a week. This last seven days, the first seven days in July, we had one death in the city."

But after moving forward in this fight against COVID-19, Mayor Duggan does not want Detroit to take steps backward. 

"I've been arguing for a while to the governor that I believe the city of Detroit is acting responsibly and we need to keep reopening the economy," Duggan said. 

And to help small businesses in the city get back on their feet, economic relief is available. He said next week another $7.25 million will be available in grants from the state.