President Trump approves Disaster Declaration for state of Michigan

DETROIT – The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to rise.

Nearly 1,000 new cases were announced Saturday -- the largest daily jump in cases since the outbreak began on March 10.

UPDATE, March 28, 3 p.m.: Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases total 4,650; Death toll rises to 111

State officials announced 993 new cases and 19 new deaths.

The federal government listed Detroit as a hotspot as the city alone has 1,381 confirmed cases and 31 deaths.

Detroit police chief James Craig is one of the confirmed cases. He’s currently recovering at his home.

President Donald Trump approved Michigan’s disaster declaration Friday and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected.

More than 100,000 masks from the strategic stockpile arrived in the state Saturday morning.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the FEMA approval is a good start and is hopeful for more aid from Washington.

Detroit mayor Mike Duggan was overseeing COVID-19 testing when he received a call from Vice President Mike Pence.

“He was terrific,” Duggan said. “He wanted to talk to me bout the State Fair’s testing site.”

RELATED: Detroit regional drive-up testing site for coronavirus (COVID-19) opens

It is important to note that while the number of cases is going up, it does not mean social distancing is not working. People who are testing positive now could have been exposed to the virus several weeks ago, and many people don’t show symptoms for several days.

It will take weeks to see the results of the stay-at-home order and other social distancing measures that have been put in place. Additionally, the state is still reporting results from a backlog of tests.

Question about coronavirus? Ask Dr. McGeorge here.

Read more about coronavirus here.

Anyone who believes they might have coronavirus should follow the CDC guidelines. Michigan.gov has a list of resources available to those concerned about COVID-19.

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About the Authors:

Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.