What to know today 🌅
Michigan health officials make recommendations regarding Halloween celebrations
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has issued guidance Thursday on how to safely celebrate the holiday during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its guidelines for celebrating Halloween Tuesday.
“The way we celebrate Halloween in Michigan will be different this year due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun. “However, there are still many ways to celebrate safely. The guidance MDHHS issued today provides tips for trick-or-treaters and their parents along with homeowners who wish to hand out treats.”
Judge rules 2020 census must continue for another month
A federal judge has stopped the 2020 census from finishing at the end of September and ordered the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident to continue for another month through the end of October, saying a shortened schedule likely would produce inaccurate results.
Related: Detroit residents urged to fill out US Census as Sept. 30 deadline approaches
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in California made her ruling late Thursday, two days after hearing arguments from attorneys for the Census Bureau, and attorneys for civil rights groups and local governments that had sued the Census Bureau in an effort to halt the 2020 census from stopping at the end of the month. Attorneys for the civil rights groups and local governments said the shortened schedule would undercount residents in minority and hard-to-count communities.
MAC football return? Key vote expected today
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) could be returning to the football field this year following a key vote expected Friday.
The MAC was the first of the NCAA division one conferences to postpone their football season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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🌎 Global Climate Action Day: Is it too late? What can you do?
Today is a Global Climate Action Day. Many youth groups will be taking to the streets to bring awareness to the dangers of climate change for future generations. These are organized by Fridays for Future, which started calling for school walkouts and other forms of peaceful protest in the last couple of years, spearheaded by the young climate activist, Greta Thunberg.
🗳️ Michigan Legislature eases processing of absentee ballots
Michigan lawmakers voted Thursday to made it easier for clerks to process a surge in absentee ballots in the battleground state’s presidential election by letting them start a day earlier than normal.
Election officials currently cannot remove ballots from outer envelopes until 7 a.m. on Election Day, which this year is Nov. 3. Legislation sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her expected signature would allow them to be opened between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, in cities or townships with at least 25,000 residents. Ballots would have to remain in secrecy envelopes until being counted on Nov. 3.
🚗 Bill aims to bring back Michigan’s blue license plate
The plates would not be the standard issue. Instead, the classic blue and black plates would be available with any vehicle registration for an added fee of $100. The revenue will go to the state’s transportation fund, according to the Michigan Senate.
💉 China aims to make 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses a year
A Chinese health official said Friday that the country’s annual production capacity for coronavirus vaccines will top 1 billion doses next year, following an aggressive government support program for construction of new factories.
Capacity is expected to reach 610 million doses by the end of this year, Zheng Zhongwei from the National Health Commission said.
Coronavirus in Michigan 🦠
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 119,597 as of Thursday, including 6,700 deaths, state officials report.
Thursday’s update represents 982 new cases and eight additional deaths. On Wednesday, the state totals were 118,615 cases and 6,692 deaths.
New COVID-19 cases and deaths remain flat in Michigan. Testing has remained steady, with an average of more than 30,000 per day, with the positive rate just above 3 percent over the last 10 days. The state reported its highest one-day testing total with more than 41,000 diagnostic tests on Aug. 21.
Hospitalizations are stable and the number of patients in critical care is near its lowest point since tracking, dating back to April.
Michigan has reported 90,216 recoveries. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 21,700 as of Wednesday. Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 679 on Wednesday. The state’s fatality rate is 5.6 percent.
Here’s a look at more of the data: