DETROIT – Mayor Mike Duggan opened up about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the impact it’s having on the city of Detroit.
Local 4′s Kimberly Gill sat down with Duggan -- at a safe distance -- to talk about when he thinks the city could reopen and what it will look like once it does.
Coronavirus hit Detroit at a time when many areas were experiencing an economic renaissance. But now that bustle of downtown restaurants, bars and sporting events has been put on hold. Will the city bounce back and continue to thrive? Duggan seems optimistic.
“Yeah, $350 million deficit is a major issue to deal with. I think City Council has been acting reasonably for the last six years so we had a lot of money built up in reserve -- preparing for the next recession,” Duggan said. “We just didn’t think it’d be this fast and this dramatic.”
Duggan said he wouldn’t be surprised if when restaurants and casinos open up they’re at a third of their capacity with people spaced six feet apart.
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When it comes to talk of a second wave of the coronavirus -- Duggan said it’s possible to reopen most businesses in a medically safe way.
“If we go back to huge crowds in the parks and that kind of thing -- it’ll spark back up,” he said.
Duggan has endorsed former vice president Joe Biden for president and was campaigning for him before the pandemic hit. He said if Biden is elected for president he wouldn’t go work for the administration.
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“I made a promise to Detroiters when I got elected. I’d serve the four years of that promise,” he said. “The last thing the city needs is a change.”