Michigan Adds 4,551 New Coronavirus Cases, 71 New Deaths

MICHIGAN — Over the past two days, Michigan has added more than 4,500 new cases of the coronavirus and over 70 new deaths, according to health officials with the state of Michigan.

Officials on Monday reported that Michigan had added 4,551 new COVID-19 cases since Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state to 463,403. Michigan also added 71 new COVID-19 deaths, increasing the coronavirus death toll in the state to 11,532.

On Saturday, Michigan health officials reported that 284,731 people in Michigan had recovered from the coronavirus.

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Monday marked the first day amended health orders issued by the state of Michigan took effect. The orders, which allowed certain businesses to reopen beginning today and allowed schools to begin face-to-face instruction as soon as January, continue to keep Michigan eateries closed to indoor dining.

Keeping track of what is closed and what is allowed to reopen can be a bit confusing. You can check out a breakdown of what is open and what is closed here.

But even for businesses reopening Monday, 2020 has been difficult. There is hope, however, that some financial assistance may be on the way.

The Michigan House of Representatives Monday passed a $465 million coronavirus relief bill aiming to help small businesses and frontline workers amid the ongoing pandemic.

The bill would provide $55 million in grants to small businesses with 100 or fewer employees. The bill also allocates $45 million to employees who have been laid off from their jobs or who have had their hours significantly cut due to state-issued health restrictions.

Nearly half of the funding — $220 million — will be used to continue unemployment benefits for a maximum of 26 weeks as opposed to 20 weeks.

Meanwhile, the state has continued to crack down on businesses either disregarding health restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic and attempting to profit from it.

One Oakland County business — SmokeHouse Distribution in Commerce Township — has been ordered to make a one-time $2,000 payment to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office to cover costs accumulated during an investigation into the business for reportedly price-gouging customers.

An agreement signed between the attorney general's office and the business Monday requires SmokeHouse Distribution to refund customers who purchased face coverings, which it sold for nearly $20 apiece when it purchased the coverings for less than one dollar each, according to Nessel's office.