One way to cope with any extra stress or anxiety is to have the kids engage in play time to help develop motor skills, social skills and language development, according to Dr. Jen Harstein, a children’s developmental psychologist who works with autistic children daily.

Fresh off a victory with a 7 billion dollar investment from General Motors, Governor Whitmer pitches her plans as she heads into an election year. Because of COVID, Gov. Whitmer did her State of the State remotely. Breaking tradition, Whitmer took her show on the road to Detroit Diesel to give her address.

It’s been a strange time, living through a global pandemic. What first might have come as a surprise, is the housing boom that followed -- and the fact that things have stayed red hot.

We know, you know: The pandemic messed with a LOT of people’s jobs.

The husband and wife team who helped develop the first COVID-19 vaccine are contributing to a book.

READ: U-M Mott Children’s poll: Nearly 50% of parents say pandemic negatively impacted their teens’ mental healthFor Leah, it was a desperate situation. She believed COVID and the changes the pandemic exacerbated the stresses of a boy who was already going through changes. Every facility is full.”AdFor 26 days, Leah, her wife and their son lived inside a hospital cubical inside the emergency room. READ: Tracking Michigan COVID-19 hospitalization data trendsAdLeah had enough Friday and demanded her son be released from the emergency room, believing the wait for the psychiatric evaluations was doing more harm than good. I’ve also seen in my practice in the emergency department, patients who are staying sometimes for days in the emergency department, waiting for beds.

DETROIT – Single people who live alone have few options to interact with people throughout the coronavirus pandemic -- but there are small things people can do to feel better. READ: Detroit woman helps single people find matches amid isolating pandemicJustin Main is a 31-year-old nurse practitioner who feels he’s putting his love life on hold through the pandemic. Alexa Randolph is a Metro Detroit podcaster. Lisa Chaben is a Metro Detroit matchmaker who runs a concierge dating service. READ: Detroit Love Stories: 3 more local love stories to warm your heartAdSusie Kamen is a Farmington Hills therapist who specializes in working with couples.

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – The Macomb County Restaurant, Bar, and Banquet Association have asked for a jury trial in an attempt to force Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to pay for the losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first 10 pages of its 17-page court filling goes over the challenges the service industry has faced during the coronavirus crisis. Mount Clemens Recreation and Bowl on Crocker Boulevard -- locally known as Rec Bowl -- opened 70 years ago. But if we can’t open, we’re done.”RELATED: Macomb County’s SMART bus vaccination program draws praise, but doses remain in low supply

David Arend, a physical therapist at Orthopaedic Rehab Specialists in Ann Arbor, said that even before the pandemic, people were becoming increasingly sedentary as our lives became more convenient. Physical therapist David Arend works with a patient at Orthopaedic Rehab Specialists Ann Arbor. (Orthopaedic Rehab Specialists)Make Moving a HabitFor many of us, working from home brought out our worst habits, like hunching over a laptop for hours without moving. Moving around and changing things up can also prevent the fatigue of everyday WFH activities, added Orthopaedic Rehab Specialists Outreach Coordinator Melissa Pohorence. For those with specific concerns about their aches and pains or WFH habits, Orthopaedic Rehab Specialists offers in-person and telehealth appointments.

Gretchen Whitmer submitted her third budget for the state of Michigan Thursday. Whitmer looks to draw down on the Michigan General Fund by $11.5 billion and the School Aid Fund by $14.7 billion. “This is a restrained budget,” Whitmer said. Whitmer wants $360 million to keep in place the $2 an hour wage increase for direct care workers and wants another $38 million to help nursing homes. $300 million has been planned for bridge repair and she wants to help Michigan cities with a $175 million budget stabilization for COVID response.

It certainly wasn’t planned this way, but Claire Nackashi had to deal with almost every aspect of her pregnancy, pandemic-style.

Forget the usual approach of putting all the candy in one bowl and handing it out at your door. Make individual bags of candy the trick-or-treaters can grab easily from a disinfected table set up near your sidewalk. Everyone should wear a fabric mask with at least two layers -- a Halloween mask doesn’t count! Once you get the candy home, consider switching it out with some candy from the store. You can also quarantine the candy you collected for a few days to reduce the risk from touching the wrappers.

LANSING, Mich. – A group of healthcare, public health, university, labor and business leaders called on Michigan’s political leadership to demonstrate a “complete unity of purpose” to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the state. The group stated support for mandatory standards for mask usage, workplace practices and public gatherings. They said the recent orders by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration should be deployed across the state with “discipline.”“We commend the Governor and legislature for working together on legislation to extend unemployment protections and provide common sense liability protections,” the letter said. “Now we need that same spirit of cooperation focused on reigning in surging case levels. Read the open letter below:

DETROIT – While most people are doing everything they can to avoid getting the coronavirus, some people are volunteering to be infected with it. They’re part of a movement pushing for challenge trials, research that would intentionally infect volunteers in order to speed up the development of an effective vaccine. READ: Emergency stay-in-place order issued for University of Michigan students to stop COVID-19 spreadIn a traditionally vaccine trial, volunteers receive either the vaccine or a placebo, then go about their usual lives. In a challenge trial, volunteers are directly exposed to the virus, speeding up the process -- but at a much greater risk. There would be 90 volunteers, ages 18 through 30 years old, who would be given tiny amounts -- by nose -- of COVID-19.

LANSING, Mich. – On Monday morning, Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun appeared remotely before a joint House and Senate committee that is overseeing the state’s COVID-19 response. Lawmakers questioned her on a range of topics, often with the seeming intent to identify the data used by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in her Executive Orders. The COVID-19 is a medical and public health event. Khaldun said Michigan did submit an interim COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan to the CDC on Friday.

DETROIT – In spite of all the negative aspects, the pandemic has created opportunities that we can learn from. COVID-19 has created a global natural experiment that would be impossible to do in any normal situation. READ: Michigan health officials make recommendations regarding Halloween celebrationsWhat would happen to global carbon dioxide emissions if people drove less, flew less and used less power? Idled industry added 18 percent and the drop in global domestic aviation cut C02 emissions another 13 percent. Because we cannot limit human human activity the way the pandemic did, changes in energy production and use will be needed to reach emission targets.

DETROIT – Halloween is the spookiest holiday of the year with many wearing costumes and masks, but COVID-19 is forcing many families to rethink how they’ll celebrate this year. READ: Michigan health officials make recommendations regarding Halloween celebrationsCourtney Opalko and her family set up a big display on their front lawn every year. Because of the pandemic, many typical Halloween traditions are not going to happen this year. Some families have already created pods, or bubbles, for virtual learning and they will celebrate together. Other families will add social distancing and hand sanitizer to their routine -- but otherwise try to make Halloween feel normal, which is a challenge.

The first documented case of a COVID-19 reinfection was from Hong Kong. In most of those cases, the second infection was not as severe as the first. The patient was a healthy 25-year-old resident of Nevada who initially tested positive on April 18. The genes from this first and second virus were different. Samples of virus from the first and second infection had differences suggesting reinfection.

DETROIT – The rising coronavirus numbers have caused the research group “COVID Act Now” to label Michigan at “high risk” for a worsening outbreak. Health experts said it’s another indicator that the state is starting to lose its tenuous grip on COVID-19. On Oct. 9, Michigan tested more than 45,000 people and just over 4 percent tested positive. The World Health Organization said the positivity rate should be at or below 5 percent, so the testing rate meets that mark. COVID Act Now said the rapid increase in new cases, and a growing infection rate, both indicate Michigan as a state is at high risk of a larger outbreak.

The U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan has launched an online help desk to offer the public and lawyers quick access to live assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clerk’s Office and Jury staff can answer questions through the help desk’s chat icon. The icon is located in the lower right corner of the court’s website. Chat is available from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, except on holidays.

DETROIT – Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and the city’s chief public health officer, Denise Fair, issued a public health order on Friday regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Whitmer’s coronavirus restrictions are still in effectOfficials said the order is meant to protect Detroit residents and businesses. You can click here to learn more about the order and the measures Detroit has taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The order requires masks at indoor and outdoor gatherings that involve people from different households. It also requires that bars close indoor common areas and indoor gatherings are prohibited in most areas where alcohol is sold.

DETROIT – As we head into fall, health experts are growing increasingly concerned about the amount of “COVID fatigue” many Americans are feeling. While many are impatient to move past the COVID-19 pandemic, with colder weather coming -- experts said the recommended precautions are more important than ever. Nearly two thirds of states in the U.S., including Michigan, have seen COVID-19 cases climb 10 percent or more in the past two weeks. “Now is not the time to be lax, so reinvigorate those infection control precautions,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Andrew Badley said. “For the second time in my life I thought about my own mortality,” COVID-19 survivor Rick Jeddeloh said.

DETROIT – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revised its guidance that acknowledges that COVID-19 can be airborne. Those transmissions took place “within closed spaces that had inadequate ventilation," according to the CDC. The CDC said it’s more common for the virus to spread through close contact than through airborne transmission. The update comes weeks after the agency published, but then took down, guidance warning about airborne transmission of the virus. The CDC said it was removed because it was just a draft version of proposed changes.

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic will hold a hearing on Thursday to discuss issues with the state’s unemployment system. Who: Committee members from both the Michigan House and Senate, including state Rep. Matt Hall (R-Marshall), who chairs the bipartisan committee; Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Jeff Donofrio; various concerned citizens from across Michigan who have experienced issues with Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m. -- Watch it live in the video player above. Related: Michigan Gov. Whitmer: Everyone who qualifies for unemployment benefits will get them

Have you ever celebrated Earth Day, perhaps by planting a tree or doing something good for the environment? Considering the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, the Earth Day Network has announced a shift to “global digital mobilizations.”It’ll be Digital Earth Day! Earth Day Network will provide live coverage of these “global digital mobilizations," which you can follow on its social media accounts. But organizers still want to “mobilize millions in a call for transformative action for our planet.”“At Earth Day Network, the health and safety of volunteers and participants in Earth Day events is our top concern. That’s now been postponed to October 24-25, 2020 to mark the half birthday of Earth Day.

Have you ever celebrated Earth Day, perhaps by planting a tree or doing something good for the environment? Considering the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, the Earth Day Network has announced a shift to “global digital mobilizations.”It’ll be Digital Earth Day! Earth Day Network will provide live coverage of these “global digital mobilizations," which you can follow on its social media accounts. But organizers still want to “mobilize millions in a call for transformative action for our planet.”“At Earth Day Network, the health and safety of volunteers and participants in Earth Day events is our top concern. That’s now been postponed to October 24-25, 2020 to mark the half birthday of Earth Day.