What to know today 🌅
Progress on long-delayed COVID-19 aid bill
Here is what the AP is reporting about the COVID relief package this morning:
- A bipartisan quartet of congressional leaders is pushing hard and in tandem for a long-delayed COVID-19 relief package, hoping to seal an agreement as early as Wednesday that would extend aid to individuals and businesses and help ship coronavirus vaccines to millions.
- Negotiations on COVID-19 relief intensified on Tuesday after months of futility.
- The top Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress met twice in hopes of finally cementing a leadership agreement that would revive subsidies for businesses hit hard by the pandemic, help distribute new coronavirus vaccines, fund schools and renew soon-to-expire jobless benefits.
Trending 📈
9 major takeaways from Whitmer’s COVID-19 briefing
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held another COVID-19 briefing Tuesday (Dec. 15) to update the state’s handling of the virus.
Whitmer was joined by Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Here are the top nine major takeaways from the briefing.
Coronavirus in Michigan 🦠
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 442,715 as of Tuesday, including 10,935 deaths, state officials report.
Tuesday’s update includes 4,730 new cases and 183 additional deaths, including 71 from a Vital Records review. On Monday, the state reported a total of 437,985 confirmed cases and 10,752 deaths.
New COVID-19 cases are slowing but deaths continue to rise in Michigan. Testing has remained steady, with more than 45,000 diagnostic tests reported per day, with the positive rate decreasing to near 11% over the last week. Hospitalizations have slowed but remain relatively high, including upticks in critical care and ventilator use.
Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 4,631 on Tuesday, the lowest in four weeks. The 7-day death average was 124, the highest since April. The state’s fatality rate is 2.5%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 195,000 on Tuesday. More than 236,000 have recovered in Michigan.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 6.2 million have recovered in the U.S., with more than 16.5 million cases reported across the country. More than 300,800 have died in the U.S.
Worldwide, more than 73 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 1.6 million have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.
Here’s a look at more of the data: