DETROIT – Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said during a news conference Monday that the coronavirus is going to continue to grow in the city as testing abilities grow.
As of Monday, the Detroit Health Department reports 1,804 case of COVID-19 and 50 deaths related to the disease. However, Duggan said for the first time the city’s response strategies are getting ahead of the virus.
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The mayor said there were 660 test administered Monday at the State Fairground testing site.
“I’m going to try to ask the media to report this accurately: What is happening in this country is the more testing you have the more positives you have,” Duggan said. “Our cases will continue to grow because we’re testing more than everyone else around us.”
The mayor wants tests available to every Detroiter. Doctors and clinics who are willing to take new patients should call the city at 313-361-0093.
“At 3 p.m. (Tuesday), I want to be able to post every single doctor and clinic who is willing to take people, whether you’ll only take people with or without insurance.”
The mayor said he is also working on a way to offer transportation to those who don’t have it but need to be taken to a testing site.
“Our hope is that a week from now, anyone who needs a ride will be able to get a test,” said Duggan.
As for the Detroit Police Department (DPD), which has been hit hard by the virus, the mayor said 69 employees of the department have tested positive for COVID-19.
Duggan said the testing of officers at DPD is going well. There are 493 sworn officers who are quarantined, plus another 105 civilian DPD members who quarantined. There are 173 officers in the process of being brought back.
“If the trend continues, our mapower issues will be in great shape,” Duggan said.
Crime is down 40 percent in the city thanks to people staying home, he added.
“The shelter in place is having the same effect it did in New York, response time is still good,” he said.
The mayor said Chief James Craig, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, is recovering at home and is very much still in charge of the department.
Meanwhile, eight members of the Detroit Fire Department (DFD) have tested positive with 109 department members in quarantine.
Duggan said many first responders and officers who don’t want to possibly expose loved ones to the virus are now staying at hotels. He thanked Greektown Casino Hotel for the hospitality of the first responders.
“We have to practice social distancing. Its spread is controlled by your behavior. If you see people gathering, call police. We will come out and respond,” he said.
The mayor said the city is 10 days ahead on medical supplies.
“And in this pandemic, that’s an eternity.”
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