Health and Wellness

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday toughened a requirement to wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic, mandating that businesses open to the public deny service or entry to customers who refuse to wear one. The governor also expanded where people must have a face covering beyond indoor public spaces. Starting immediately, they have to wear one outdoors if they cannot consistently …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday said she was closing indoor seating in bars in parts of the state, including a city with a bar that has been linked to a rising number of infections. Whitmer also signed a bill allowing bars and restaurants to sell to-go cocktails in an effort to help those businesses. Bars won’t have to close …

Indiana will keep capacity limits in place for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues because of worries about a possible increase in coronavirus cases across the state, Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday. The state’s reopening plan had called for those restrictions to be lifted this weekend, but Holcomb said he would keep them in place until at least July 18. The …

Rebecca Burns, health officer for the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, has made a public statement regarding the rapid increase in positive cases of COVID-19 in St Joseph County. On June 13, there were 167 total known cases in St. Joseph County and a week later the number was 202 cases. Burns said the additional 35 cases represent a 21 …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday further relaxed stay-at-home restrictions, lifting a ban on nonessential health procedures late next week and letting residents immediately gather socially in small groups before the Memorial Day weekend. Retail businesses can reopen by appointment only, starting Tuesday, as long as there are no more than 10 customers inside at a time. People are required to …

Coronavirus cases grew by a small percentage while deaths increased by 55, the Michigan health department said Saturday. The state noted that 19 of the deaths could have occurred days or weeks ago. Some information takes time to get recorded as records are reviewed and matched. The statewide number of confirmed virus cases reached at least 50,504, compared to 50,079 …

It’s Spring, the sun is shining, the grass is growing, we want to get together with family and friends and shake off the long cold winter. But this year we are advised that we are “Safer at Home”, so this isn’t like any normal Spring. The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency asks that all residents in Branch, Hillsdale, and St. …

The coronavirus has claimed 133 additional lives in Michigan, pushing the state’s death toll from the outbreak to 4,526, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Saturday. With 430 new cases reported, Michigan has a total of 46,756, the agency said. The number of state residents who have recovered from the disease has reached 22,686, it said. It …

The closure of doctors’ offices across Michigan during the new coronavirus pandemic has spurred a statewide surge in the embrace of telemedicine, a practice that allows doctors to treat patients remotely by phone or computer, officials said. Hospitals and doctors have moved quickly to adopt the technology after government agencies and lawmakers removed regulatory obstacles starting in early March. Experts …

Hundreds of new health care graduates from Michigan State University are available to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. State officials have made a desperate plea for health professionals to treat people as the number of virus cases rises each day. MSU says the state has created a temporary license for nurses who usually first take a national exam. Doctors from …