Task force releases nursing home recommendations, robbery suspect dies in shootout, Whitmer press conference

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - The COVID-19 task force made news on Tuesday when it released 28 recommendations for better protecting nursing home residents from a potential second wave of the coronavirus in the fall. The susceptible group of elderly people has made up a large part of the state's death total related to the pandemic.

The recommendations cover four areas, including the placement of residents, resource availability, staffing, and quality of life. 

Much of the guidance sought increased funding for testing in nursing homes, improving support for staff at the homes, coordinating with hospitals with excess surge capacity, improving personal protective equipment distribution, and exploring for creating dedicated facilities and alternative care settings.

Among Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's most criticized moves during the COVID-19 pandemic were decisions related to housing people infected with the virus in nursing homes. The decision was made because of the nursing home's capabilities to isolate patients from other groups.

However, because the elderly are among the demographics with the highest number of comorbidities, they are most threatened by the virus. About 31% of all coronavirus-related deaths have been linked to nursing homes.

The task force studied the transmission rate of COVID-19 between patients admitted from hospitals to nursing home residents in facilities selected to house people positive with the virus and found no significant evidence of exchange. Instead, it reported the prevalence of COVID-19 in nursing home residents positively correlated with county COVID-19 prevalence rates in both facilities selected and not selected to house patients.

The report comes only a week after the Department of Justice requested data on nursing homes from the Whitmer administration. The letter was sent as part of an investigation under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. 

You can read the full report of recommendations here.

Attempted robbery spirals into shootout, killing one suspect

An attempted robbery at a Roseville car wash ended in a shootout where one of the suspects was killed.

The incident happened around 7 p.m. Tuesday night after two suspects approached a man by his car at the Wash Pointe Car Wash on Gratiot Avenue and Frazho. When the victim was targeted, he pulled out a handgun and began firing at the alleged robbers.

After the victim and suspects exchanged gunfire, he struck one of the men. He was later pronounced dead at an area hospital.

It's unclear what happened to the other suspect. Roseville Police haven't released any follow-up information on the incident.

If anyone witnessed the incident or has any information please call the Roseville police.

Macomb Twp family told to remove Black Lives Matter sign

A subdivision association in Macomb Township has asked a family to take out their Black Lives Matter sign from their yard. 

The family believes they were targeted because of their support for the group, prompting letters from the Macomb Township River Subdivision association to mail requests to 20 other residents to get rid of their signs.

"We can't have any signs on our lawn, I guess we just missed that part," said Katrin Sinishtaj. "What about free speech."

It's not unusual for a subdivision to have bylaws enforcing sign placement in a neighborhood. On this street, one of the ordinances says "No sign, any kind, shall be displayed to the public on any lot except advertising a lot for sale."

The association leader said it has discussed sign bans in past meetings- because of complaints related to too many signs. 

The letter said September 1 was the deadline, and the board is meeting to discuss its next step if the signs stay up.

Whitmer holding press conference Wednesday

The governor is expected to discuss economic investment into Michigan's economy to "help support small businesses and build communities" during a Wednesday press conference. 

Whitmer's planned news conference comes after several reports the governor would be lifting restrictions on gyms and movie theaters. After a staggered approach to reopening, any businesses that weren't back up and running by June found themselves on the outside looking in at the business community.

An uptick in COVID-19 cases after the state beat back the first surge ceased any planned reopenings where transmission of the virus was likely. That meant enclosed public spaces or areas with physical exertion forced people to breathe heavily. 

While the state's death total has remained consistently low, its case rates have fluctuated - an indication that testing has increased while people not as susceptible to COVID-19's more dangerous symptoms were being infected. The state has played whack-a-mole with many outbreaks involving younger people over the past couple months. 

Gov. Whitmer will be speaking at 2:30 p.m. You can watch live by clicking here. 

Secretary of State, Detroit clerk announce partnership for General Election

Secretary Jocelyn Benson and Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey announced Wednesday morning the two groups were partnering to bolster security and integrity in the November election in Detroit after several precincts reported miscalculations in vote counts during the primary.

The collaborative effort will recruit and train additional staff, open more satellite clerk offices, and provide support to the city's absentee ballot tabulation.

A review of Detroit precinct vote counts by the Wayne County Board of Canvassers found more than 70% of absentee ballot counts were wrong after the August primary.

In a striking show of collaboration, Detroit is also working with all four of its sports teams to increase voter education and use their sports facilities to aid in election support. 

“Partnerships are critical to running smooth, secure elections and the additional staff, resources and support from the city, county and state will further strengthen our election system as we navigate this unprecedented time,” said Winfrey. “Detroit voters should feel completely confident that their voices will be heard when they cast their ballots ahead of and on November 3rd.”

Daily Forecast

A muggy start to Wednesday will end with less humid conditions as temperatures are expected to reach 83 degrees today. 

President Trump denies suffering 'series of mini-strokes,' doctor says he 'remains healthy'

President Trump on Tuesday denied that he had "a series of mini-strokes" prompting an unscheduled visit to Walter Reed hospital in November 2019.

"It never ends! Now they are trying to say that your favorite President, me, went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered a series of mini-strokes," Trump wrote on Twitter. "Never happened to THIS candidate — FAKE NEWS. Perhaps they are referring to another candidate from another Party!"

Dr. Sean Conley, Trump's physician, told Fox News on Tuesday that the president "remains healthy" and will "remain fit to execute the duties of the Presidency."

CNN reported this week that New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt in his forthcoming book claims Vice President Mike Pence was "on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure that would have required him to be anesthetized."