Coronavirus Michigan

Michigan has the lowest rate of public health funding in the Midwest, and local governments may strain to provide other services in the wake of the coronavirus.

Seven districts in Washtenaw County are moving to online-only learning beginning Monday, March 16. Districts around the state are wrestling with the pros and cons of closing as Ohio announced it was shutting its public schools.

Health experts say testing needs to ramp up to better track and slow down the spread of the virus. The state says it currently has capacity to test for 1,300 cases of the disease.

Michigan is bracing for more cases, but has no backlog of tests after three state residents tested positive for the virus, Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun told lawmakers Thursday.

MSU emptied out quickly Wednesday as the school put an end to in-person classes until April. Some students worried about the quality of virtual education. Another is staying in the dorms to avoid his younger sister back home.

The state’s public universities have told students not to attend classes in person as schools scramble to convert to virtual learning. Some students were told to go home, others are staying on campus.

Michigan should consider containment, bans on gatherings to “flatten the curve” and slow the spread of the coronavirus, experts say. ‘If I overdo it, so be it,’ one expert says.