Detroit police stay busy breaking up gatherings during COVID-19.
Detroit police have stayed busy during Michigan’s social distancing mandate during the coronavirus. Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently extended the state’s shelter in place order to the end of April. Yet, it seems residents don’t want to cooperate.
“Nobody is immune to this virus,” Whitmer said. “It doesn’t discriminate based on county lines, partisan lines, age, or socioeconomic status. One person who carries it can infect forty people, who then can infect thousands more…These unprecedented times demand unprecedented grit. We will get through this together. Do your part. Stay home, stay safe.”
Officers recently issued nearly five dozen citations in a single day for breaking the order in addition to more than 260 warnings after following up on 952 cases of possible COIVD-19 order violations based on calls received. The visits included complaints about eight parties and 35 gatherings, records show. Officers also shut down a hairdresser supply company it had previously issued a warning to, according to Assistant Chief James White.
“For the small percentage of people who continue to cluster, the neighbors are calling on them and the cops are showing up in a hurry,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced during a pandemic news conference.
The city has more than 6,000 cases of COVID-19 to date. Although the number of newly reported cases seems to be declining, Duggan said it’s too soon to celebrate, especially by throwing parties.
“If you’re looking at the infection rate, all you are looking at is a report card on lab capacity. It has absolutely nothing to do with the spread of the virus in this community,” Duggan said. “When our lab gets behind in a day, it changes the numbers. But they will come back. This virus is still growing. It’s growing more slowly than it was a week or so ago, but it’s a long way from over.”
Along with those infected, the city has reported approximately 300 coronavirus deaths with nursing homes at the epicenter of the crisis. Many elderly residents who have compromised immune systems need continuous in-person care and are unable to fully distance from others. Authorities have reported there are confirmed COVID-19 cases 19 of the area’s 28 nursing homes and 11 residents have succumb to the virus. The city is conducting daily wellness checks, bringing along test kits, in an effort to protect those most vulnerable.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that the COVID-19 virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person when people maintain close contact with one another, standing less than six feet apart, and through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
“These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs,” the CDC explains.
Most unsettling is that a vast majority of individuals infected with the coronavirus are thought to show no symptoms at all, and spreading it is possible before any symptoms are spotted. Thus, the safest and most effective way to stop the spread is to maintain the social distancing mandate until the virus is successfully contained.
Sources:
Detroit police break up dozens of gatherings to stop spread of coronavirus
Michigan’s COVID-19 deaths hit 1,281 with largest single-day rise, 22,780 cases
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