Health and Wellness

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 …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued a sweeping order banning dine-in customers at restaurants and closing all bars, movie theaters, gyms and other sports facilities to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The order will last through March. She also prohibited large gatherings of more than 50 people and ordered that more people qualify for unemployment benefits during the global …

Michigan officials say two people in the Detroit area have tested positive for the coronavirus infection. A woman in Oakland County had traveled outside the country, while a man from Wayne County had traveled within the U.S. They are in hospitals and are middle-aged. Both cases will be reviewed by federal health experts. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is urging residents to follow simple steps to limit the spread of a new type of virus that hasn’t been confirmed in the state but could be eventually. She says people should wash their hands, not touch their face, replace handshakes with elbow or fist bumps and cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing. Whitmer activated …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Department has issued a media release regarding holiday health. It stated that Christmas Day results in more heart-related deaths than any other day of the year. Furthermore, the day after Christmas features the second-largest reports of heart-related deaths. The tri-county agency is offering advice for how not to be a statistic this week. Its tips include …

Michigan health authorities are reporting a 6th fatality linked to Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Berrien County Health Department officials said Monday the victim was one of two people who contracted the mosquito borne virus. The death occurred Saturday. Cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis first appeared in West Michigan at the end of August. The virus has been reported in Barry, Berrien, …

Fed-up doctors and health advocates want Michigan lawmakers to curb insurers’ cost-control methods they say are delaying care, frustrating patients, and creating unnecessary red tape and expense. Physicians say requirements to get pre-approval from insurance companies once were limited to newer, expensive services and medications. But now, they contend, it has been expanded to necessary, routine and lower-priced treatments — …

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services and 12 local health departments will be conducting aerial spraying in 14 counties to combat mosquito-borne disease. This action is due to the large geographic distribution and number of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) cases in humans and/or animals, coupled with warm weather projections. Spraying is scheduled to take place starting Sunday, September …