Cover Stories
Coronavirus exposes deadly impact of poverty, racial disparities in metro Detroit
Bill Bennett couldn’t afford to get sick. Living paycheck to paycheck, he works part-time as a chef downtown with no sick days. Then came the coughing, fever, and fatigue — the telltale signs of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China, last year and has since reached nearly every…
How to stay sane during the coronavirus pandemic
Grief. Depression. Fear. Anger. The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically impacted and changed all of our lives forever. During this, the worst time that many of us have ever lived through, how can we make sense of it all? Detroit mental health professionals have some advice for us. “I know several people, myself included, who are…
Coronavirus kills 166 Michigan residents in past day, bringing total deaths to 1,700+
Michigan reported 166 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, the second largest one-day increase so far, bringing the total deaths to 1,768. In the span of a week, the coronavirus has claimed 924 lives in Michigan, which now has more coronavirus deaths than Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio combined. Only New York and New Jersey have more…
‘The Wild Goose Lake’ is a smart Chinese neo-noir
The Wild Goose Lake is currently streaming online as part of Film Lab’s Virtual Cinema series on VOD. Tickets can be purchased here. A kiss is more than a kiss, a gun more than a gun, a quarry more than a quarry: so it often goes in neo-noir, and so it is in 2019’s The…
Detroit’s 1,000-bed TCF Center is only treating 8 coronavirus patients as hospitals overflow
At a time when grisly photos showing bodies piling up at Michigan hospitals made national headlines, Detroit’s 1,000-bed coronavirus field hospital at TCF Center is reportedly treating only eight COVID-19 patients. The news comes days after the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers readied the convention center formerly known as Cobo Center into an overflow hospital…
Expiration dates for Michigan driver’s licenses, registration extended due to coronavirus emergency
Michigan’s Secretary of State branches have been closed since March 24, which has left many drivers unable to renew their licenses — and with questions as to what consequences they may face. To offer some anxiety relief to those licensed drivers whose licenses or registration have expired or are expected to expire by May 31,…
Michigan bars and restaurants can sell liquor back to the state due to coronavirus shutdown
After extending a state-wide stay-at-home order, which instructs bars and restaurants to continue to close their dining rooms to the public through April 30, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has launched a program to help those businesses weather the economic downturn. On Monday, Whitmer signed an executive order which launched a liquor and spirits buy-back program. The…
More bad news for metro Detroit ticket holders as Ticketmaster changes refund policy during the coronavirus pandemic
Event ticket holders can’t seem to catch a break. In a four week period, more than 17 million Americans have been forced to file for unemployment due to the economic shutdown caused in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including a major blow to the billion-dollar concert and live event industry. All concerts, sporting events, and…
Prisoners say soap is being rationed at Muskegon Correctional Facility, posing coronavirus risk
While the coronavirus has yet to reach Muskegon Correctional Facility, prisoners say they’re worried it inevitably will, and that the prison’s weekly ration of two hotel-sized bars of soap won’t be enough to stop its spread. That’s according to several prisoners interviewed by former Metro Times reporter Curt Guyette, now of the ACLU of Michigan.…
Interlochen students collaborate for ‘Bye, Corona’ parody
A group of students at Interlochen Arts Academy went where even “Weird Al” Yankovic wouldn’t dare go — and made a coronavirus-themed parody of the Knack’s “My Sharona.” But while “Weird Al” floated out the idea for “My Corona,” the Interlochen students came up with “Bye, Corona,” which serves as both an anticipatory kiss-off to…
Workers who interact with the public must wear masks in Oakland County
Grocery store workers, pharmacists, restaurant employees, cashiers, and anyone else working at an essential business in Oakland County must now wear masks if they have face-to-face interactions with the public. Oakland County Executive David Coulter issued the emergency order Monday night, and it became effective at midnight Tuesday. “Any essential services providing goods and services…
Michigan leaders see hopeful trend in coronavirus outbreak as death toll hits 1,602
State officials said on Monday that the worst of the coronavirus outbreak may soon be over, but cautioned that the number of cases and deaths will continue to be high. “We are starting to see early signs of a plateau in the rate of COVID-19 cases here in the state of Michigan, particularly in southeast…
Alice Cooper will participate in this year’s livestreamed Detroit Music Awards
The 29th Annual Detroit Music Awards will continue, coronavirus be damned, this year switching to a livestream-only event. Some of the initial special guests announced include shock rocker Alice Cooper, who will present an award and be featured in a special video, along with former Detroit Tiger Kirk Gibson. Other video performances include those from…
Flint strip club at the forefront of federal lawsuit fighting for coronavirus small business bailout
Last month, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law, which introduced the Paycheck Protection Program, a loan program fueled by $349 billion in funding to prevent job loss among small businesses, nonprofits, and other select organizations pertaining to veterans affairs and tribal businesses. Among those businesses not protected?…
Who is immune to the coronavirus? Beaumont study seeks to find out
The coronavirus pandemic has raised a lot of pressing and unanswered questions: How far has the virus spread? Do infected people become immune to COVID-19? When will life return to normal? Those are among the questions that the Beaumont Health Research Institute in Royal Oak hopes to answer after launching what it has dubbed the…
Six Feet of Distance, a new platform for Detroit art and social practice in the coronavirus age, launches
Metro Times has partnered with other Detroit organizations to launch Six Feet of Distance, a new platform developed in response to the disruptions to daily life of the coronavirus pandemic. The new website “assembles a number of pre-existing online Detroit art + social practice projects in a way that aligns with the velocity of the…
More than 100 coronavirus deaths reported in Michigan for sixth straight day
The number of coronavirus deaths in Michigan increased by 111 on Saturday, bringing the total to nearly 1,400. That marks the sixth day of more than 100 daily deaths. More than 3,600 people in Michigan have been hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Of those, 1,582 are…
Michigan now has more coronavirus deaths than Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin combined
Michigan reported more than 200 new coronavirus deaths on Friday, the most the state has seen yet in a 24-hour period. The 206 deaths brought the state’s total to 1,282, which is more than Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio combined. Only New Jersey and New York have higher death tolls. With a chronic testing shortage, public…
Detroit bus driver who died of coronavirus days after posting viral video featured in TIME magazine
Jason Hargrove, the 50-year-old Detroit bus driver who died of the coronavirus days after posting a viral video complaining about people who weren’t taking the pandemic seriously, is honored in the new issue of TIME magazine. The new issue, “Heroes of the Frontlines,” profiles some of the “courageous workers risking their own lives to save…
Electric Forest mulling alternative 2020 plans due to coronavirus
Michigan’s Electric Forest music festival appears to still be on… for the moment, at least, though like many other things right now the coronavirus pandemic has put its fate up in the air. Related On Thursday, the Rothbury Village Council denied a request to move the annual festival from its original June 25-28 dates to…
The coronavirus behind bars: A letter from a Michigan jail
Note: Ray Gray, an artist from Detroit, has been behind bars for nearly 50 years for a crime he says he didn’t commit. He sent us this dispatch from Muskegon Correctional Facility. The coronavirus has impacted every human being on earth, even domestic pets in some ways. It has leveled the field and bespeaks a…
Michigan’s new stay-at-home order restricts access to gardening and home improvement sections in grocery stores
If you were thinking of using this quarantine to do some home beautification, think again. On Thursday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended Michigan’s stay-at-home executive order, which is now in effect through April 30. In addition to extending the duration that nonessential businesses are to remain closed and Michigan residents are to remain at home, leaving…
Detroit’s coronavirus death toll jumps by 54 — the highest spike in one day — bringing total to 326
Detroit reported 54 new coronavirus deaths on Friday, the most in a single day so far, bringing its total to 326. The previous record for deaths in one day in Detroit was 38 on April 5. The city now has more deaths than all of Ohio, Indiana, or Wisconsin. Detroit also has a higher death…
Detroit electronic music duo Adult. is making the most out of pandemic-induced isolation
Nicola Kuperus and Adam Miller of Adult. are workaholics. Musicians. Film and video makers. Installation artists. Music production. Nicola’s eerie photography, which adorns their record covers. So when the coronavirus pandemic and the stay-at-home order disrupted a video shoot for “Total Total Damage” last month that was to incorporate six dancers, they of course got…
Whistleblowing nurse fired after complaining of inhumane conditions at Detroit’s Sinai-Grace amid coronavirus outbreak
So many coronavirus patients are dying at Sinai-Grace Hospital that health care workers have run out of body bags and space at the morgue. Nurses have worked 24 straight hours without the proper protective gear. And without enough rooms, critically ill people on oxygen tanks are being placed in hallways. That’s how nurses described the…
Michigan’s coronavirus deaths rise by more than 100 for fourth straight day, bringing total to 1,076
New deaths from the coronavirus in Michigan rose by more than 100 for the fourth day in a row, bringing the state’s total to 1,076. The 117 new deaths on Thursday is the second-highest daily increase since the outbreak began last month. Michigan ranks third in the number of deaths nationwide, behind New York and…
Gov. Whitmer assembles task force to tackle coronavirus racial disparities
With a disproportionate number of Black people dying from the coronavirus in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Tuesday the creation of a task force to tackle racial inequalities. Black people make up 13.6% of the state’s population, but represent 40% of the deaths and a third of the infections. But the numbers may be a…
Gov. Whitmer extends and expands stay-at-home order through April as coronavirus deaths in Michigan continue to mount
As the coronavirus continues to sweep across Michigan at an alarming rate, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday that she’s extending and expanding her stay-at-home order until at least April 30. The order, which was set to expire on April 14, requires non-essential businesses to close and directs residents to stay at home, except to exercise…
State Rep. Tyrone Carter, who has COVID-19, calls for ‘mandatory’ racial data in testing
State Rep. Tyrone Carter, who tested positive for the coronavirus last month, is calling on health officials to collect and disclose the race of every person who tests positive for the coronavirus. Carter’s plea comes after Michigan released partial data that showed Black people are disproportionately getting infected and dying from COVID-19. Black people make…
Fundraiser pays Detroit restaurants to feed homeless
Some of Detroit’s restaurants have united for a fundraiser that will help them weather the coronavirus pandemic and also help out the city’s homeless. The “Pay it Forward: Power a Business & Feed the Homeless” Patronicity campaign is collecting donations, which will go toward local restaurants to prepare meals for about 100 homeless people being…
Battle Creek man wears thong as coronavirus mask, assaults man who mocked him
In this time of crisis, we’ve had no choice but to be resourceful especially when it comes to DIY protective cloth face masks to protect from coronavirus transmission. Some folks are using their sewing skills to make custom gear, others are utilizing tutorials on how to craft masks from household items, like bandanas and hair…
Gov. Whitmer deems Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy ‘essential’ workers, warns of possible austerity
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her dog, Kevin, a dog with a human name, issued a PSA to Michigan’s children assuring them that though the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the economy, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are not subject to her executive order calling on all non-essential businesses to close. “We heard there were…
Detroit Fire Department captain dies from coronavirus as city’s death toll surpasses 250
The coronavirus has claimed the life of Detroit Fire Department Capt. Franklin D. Williams, Jr. The 58-year-old is the first member of the city’s fire department to die from the coronavirus, which has killed more than 250 Detroiters and 959 Michigan residents. Williams, who was on a ventilator, was an active member of the fire…
Study: Upset stomach first sign of illness for some COVID-19 patients
Some patients with the coronavirus experience upset stomachs, and diarrhea, as the first signs of illness, according to a new study conducted in China — though most typically experience cough, fever, and shortness of breath. This group of patients had mild cases of the virus overall with respiratory problems showing up later, according to Dr. Brennan…
Michigan reports 100+ coronavirus deaths for third straight day, but there’s good news
For the third straight day, Michigan reported more than 100 deaths from the coronavirus, bringing its total to a sobering 959. The 114 new deaths is the second-highest daily increase since the outbreak began last month. But there is good news: The death toll is not doubling every two days like it was last month.…
Bernie Sanders drops out of 2020 presidential race, Metro Times now endorsing Any Functioning Adult
We at the Metro Times coronavirus quarantine offices were saddened by today’s news that progressive candidate Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 presidential race. In many ways this was no surprise. Though Sanders was the frontrunner when we wrote our cover story endorsement a million years ago last month, the tide quickly turned when…
Michiganders, stop dumping masks and gloves in parking lots or face fines
We get it, Michigan. You’re scared of the coronavirus. If and when you have to hit the grocery store or pharmacy, we imagine you suit up in your protective masks and gloves (though we were reminded this week that gloves don’t really do shit unless you’re constantly sanitizing). After you stock up on, you know,…
Detroit’s grim coronavirus death toll has a ‘glimmer of light,’ Mayor Duggan says
Detroit may be turning a corner in its fight to combat the coronavirus. Deaths are no longer doubling every two days, or three days, or even four days. “It’s starting to slow,” Mayor Mike Duggan said Tuesday. “We are at a time where we may be bending the curve.” On Wednesday, the city reported 26…
Mobile morgues are on the way to Wayne County in anticipation of coronavirus death surge
Late last month, images of make-shift morgues lined up behind Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital began to surface on social media. Similar scenes began taking place in Brooklyn, including a now-viral video of body bags being loaded into a refrigerated truck with a forklift. Most recently, more than 45 “mobile morgues” were deployed to NYC-area hospitals as…
Michigan’s coronavirus peak could come Thursday, according to estimate
Here’s some more possible good news on the coronavirus front in Michigan: The worst could soon be behind us. That’s according to a new model from NPR, which uses widely cited data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The model predicts Michigan’s peak of coronavirus deaths could come…
The failures that brought us the coronavirus pandemic can never be forgiven or forgotten
“The reason you’re seeing so much attention to [COVID-19] today is that [the media] think this is going to be the thing that brings down the president. That’s what this is all about it. … The flu kills people. This is not Ebola. It’s not SARS, it’s not MERS. It’s not a death sentence; it’s…
Savage Love: The No-Pandemic Challenge
Your last two columns and your last two podcasts were all about the pandemic. Everything everywhere is all about the pandemic right now. Can you give it a rest? For maybe a week? Could you answer some questions that aren’t about the pandemic? Any fun kink questions come in this week? I could use a…
Horoscopes (April 8-14)
ARIES: March 21 – April 20: Do what you can to keep your mind on the here and now. The tendency to dwell on the past, or old hurts, or people and things that have left a bad taste in your mouth poisons the realm of possibilities and keeps you from moving on. Blessed with…
