Michigan is reporting 722 new cases of the coronavirus and 26 additional COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 26 deaths announced Thursday, 17 were identified during a vital records review.
Michigan now has 85,429 total confirmed coronavirus cases and 6,247 COVID-19 deaths.
Wednesday the state was at 84,707 confirmed cases with 6,221 deaths.
The state is now providing weekly updates on the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19. These numbers will be updated every Saturday.
As of July 31, 60,022 are being reported as recovered in Michigan.
The state defines ‘recovered’ as the number of persons with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis who are alive 30 days post-onset (or referral date if onset is not available).
Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Thursday requiring face coverings to be worn in child care centers and camps statewide.
The governor says Michigan has seen outbreaks at these locations, and requiring face coverings will allow them to remain open while keeping kids and staff safe.
Under the new order, staff and children ages 2 and up are required to wear a face covering on a school bus or other transportation.
Staff and children ages 4 and older are required to wear a face covering in all indoor common spaces, while staff and children 12 and older are required to wear a face covering in classrooms, homes, cabins, or similar indoor small-group settings.
The order does make an exception for child care centers in the Traverse City and Upper Peninsula regions, who are currently in phase 5 of the MI Safe Start reopening plan.
Face coverings are not required for any child who cannot medically tolerate it, during meal time, while swimming, during high-intensity activities, outside while physically distanced, or if a child is under the age of 2.
Members of the Michigan Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators, or MI CORE, are protesting on the Capitol lawn.
They say it’s to call attention to the danger of schools physically reopening.
They say when Governor Gretchen Whitmer suspended in person schooling in March there were only a few dozen cases in Michigan, but now there are hundreds of cases a day.
The group is demanding that state and federal officials take more decisive action in addressing the pandemic.
They also want more funding to protect schools communities.
Nearly 1.2 million Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week.
It comes after a $600 weekly federal jobless payment expired.
It’s the 20th straight week that at least 1 million people have sought jobless aid.
But the number of jobless claims fell by about 250,000 from the previous week.
That was after rising for two straight weeks, and it was the lowest total since mid-March.
Tuesday was one of the deadliest days since the coronavirus hit in the U.S., adding more than 1,000 deaths
As the U.S. continues to battle the virus, lawmakers continue to battle over a stimulus relief bill.
The Senate now plans to delay its recess next week in hopes that a bill will ready then.
Both sides have been deadlocked since the bills proposal.
Democrats have been pushing for more state and local funding. But Republicans say that funding goes too far.
The president himself says he will not be going along with what he is calling “bailouts.”
Leaders on both sides of the aisle have shown little willingness to budge.
The Senate majority leader, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, says, “While Americans are struggling, the Democratic leaders have moved about one inch, one inch, in eight days.”
And the Senate’s minority leader, Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer, says they will not agree to something “inadequate.”
“We cannot agree to an inadequate bill and then go home while the virus continues to spread, the economy continues to deteriorate and the country gets worse,” Schumer says.
President Trump says he’s continuing to look into using executive action to bring about some of his priorities for COVID-19 relief, including a suspension of evictions and payroll taxes.
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