Morning Briefing May 17, 2021: Outages expected today as crews repair Downtown Detroit water main, a look at which Michigan stores still require masks following updated mandate

Here are this morning’s top stories

A customer exits a corner market while wearing a protective mask in the retail shopping district of the SoHo neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York, Friday, May 14, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (John Minchillo, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Crews to repair 30-inch water main Monday on Farmer Street in Detroit, outages expected

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is going to repair a 30-inch water main beginning at 12 p.m. Monday on Farmer Street near Bates Street due to a leak.

Officials said several downtown buildings will be out of service or have low water pressure in an eight-block area during the repair period. No water service outages or low pressure are expected in other areas of downtown.

Learn more here.


LIST: Which Michigan stores still require masks to enter - and which don’t?

While the mask mandate has been lifted for fully vaccinated people in Michigan, businesses can still enforce a mask policy.

As of May 15, fully vaccinated Michigan residents don’t have to wear a mask in most indoor or outdoor settings, but local communities and businesses can keep mask rules in effect. The move came after the CDC issued new guidance on face covering for COVID-19.

Stores that have dropped mask requirements are strongly urging people who are high risk or unvaccinated to wear a mask while shopping.

View the list here.


88% of children covered by monthly payments starting in July

The Treasury Department said Monday that 39 million families are set to receive monthly child payments beginning on July 15.

The payments are part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which expanded the child tax credit for one year and made it possible to pre-pay the benefits on a monthly basis. Nearly 88% of children are set to receive the benefits without their parents needing to take any additional action.

Read more here.


Looking for a vaccine appointment? Tracking COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan: New openings, clinics, appointments 💉


Mass COVID vaccination site at Ford Field will close after today

Monday is the last day for people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at Ford Field in Detroit.

The city’s mass vaccination site opened to the public earlier this year in March, and has since administered more than 240,000 COVID vaccinations since.

See the report here.


Woman crashes into pole in Detroit, dies after grabbing power line

A woman has died after crashing into a pole in Detroit, and subsequently grabbing the power line Monday morning.

See the report here.


Parents enraged after Ann Arbor Public Schools decides to forgo childcare programs for 2021-2022 school year

Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) will not offer before-and-after-school childcare programs for school age students during the 2021-2022 school year. In response, more than 500 parents have signed a petition to AAPS leadership calling for the school district to reconsider and resume the programs.

Parents rely on the district to provide safe and affordable childcare programs, the letter states. For many, their ability to work and be financially stable is possible due to the care offered.

Read more here.


Weather: Heating up this week ☀️


COVID in Michigan 💉

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 874,624 as of Saturday, including 18,607 deaths, state officials report.

Saturday’s update includes a total of 1,289 new cases and 107 additional deaths, of which 91 deaths were identified during a review of records.

The state no longer provides data updates on Sundays; the next update is expected Monday afternoon.

Testing has been steady around 35,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate at 7.15% as of Saturday, lower than one week ago. Hospitalizations have declined over the last three weeks.

As of Saturday, a total of 755,119 have recovered from the virus in Michigan.

Overall, new cases have slowed over the last 10 days. The state’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 1,713 on Saturday -- lower than one week ago. The 7-day death average was 65 on Saturday, slightly lower than the last two weeks. The state’s fatality rate is 2.1%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 100,900 on Saturday.

Michigan has reported more than 7.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered as of Sunday, with 55.7% of residents 16+ having received at least one dose while 42.1% are considered fully vaccinated.

Here’s a look at more of the data:


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About the Author:

Cassidy Johncox is a senior digital news editor covering stories across the spectrum, with a special focus on politics and community issues.