MediterraneanGrocery Wholesalers in Detroit, MI

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that people in 16 Michigan counties wear masks again in indoor, public places as the coronavirus surges and hospitalizations climb.

The CDC updated its map Thursday evening that details community risk from COVID-19, showing all of metro Detroit now in the high-risk category as well as many in the northwestern lower peninsula.

Those counties are: Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, St. Clair, Chippewa, Mackinac, Emmet, Cheboygan, Antrim, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Manistee and Calhoun.

In those 16 high-risk counties, the CDC recommends wearing a mask in indoor, public places, staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and getting tested if you're symptomatic.

Another 28 Michigan counties now have moderate levels of transmission, according to the CDC.

They are: Gogebic, Ontonagon, Marquette, Presque Isle, Alpena, Montmorency, Otsego, Alcona, Crawford, Charlevoix, Leelanau, Kent, Barry, Kalamazoo, Eaton, Clinton, Gratiot, Isabella, Ingham, Shiawassee, Saginaw, Midland, Bay, Genesee, Sanilac, Monroe, Lenawee, Jackson.

The recommendation in those communities is to talk to your health care provider about whether to wear a mask or take other precautions if you're at high risk for severe illness with COVID-19. In addition, the CDC suggests staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and getting tested if you are symptomatic.

Case rates and hospitalizations in the state are rising yet again as rapidly spreading omicron subvariants BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 gain prevalence.

On Wednesday, the state health department reported 823 people were hospitalized with coronavirus — up about 90% from a month ago, when 430 people with the virus were getting hospital care.

It's still nowhere near levels of hospitalization Michigan saw in January, when the state hit pandemic peaks with more than 4,600 people hospitalized with the virus.

The state reached a seven-day average of 3,958 new daily cases on Wednesday — the highest point since February, when Michigan was coming down from the initial omicron surge.

Even though few pandemic restrictions remain in place, people can still choose to take steps to protect themselves by getting vaccinated, boosted and using some tried-and-true mitigation measures, according to Emily Martin, associate professor of epidemiology for the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

"Even though the political landscape has changed and sort of the recommendation landscape has changed, the same things work now that worked a few months ago," Martin said in a Twitter Space chat discussing the future of COVID-19.

"Masks still work, and higher-quality masks still provide a higher level of protection. Being outdoors is still better than being indoors and being in less crowded spaces is still ... better than being in crowded spaces."

Treatments like the antiviral drug Paxlovid are available now that can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death from the virus. Monoclonal antibody therapy is an option, too, for people who are vulnerable.

"And the sooner you test, the sooner you can access treatment and the sooner ... you use them, the better they work," Martin said. "There are things that we can do with a positive result to make you feel better. And so it's important to test so that you know that you're positive so then you can seek the treatment."

Contact Kristen Shamus: [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.

Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.

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Up and at 'em, Detroit! Let's get you all caught up to start this day off on an informed note. Here's everything going on today in Detroit.

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About me: I was born and raised on Detroit's Westside, in the hard working blue-collar Polish neighborhood of Warrendale. I'm a Detroit Public School graduate who fought hard to earn my education. My aspiration into journalism came as a young kid, when I began following the corruption scandal of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. My first break in to the journalism world began with the opportunity to work at the Michigan Journal, where I primarily reported on campus and local news throughout the Dearborn community. I eventually worked my way to news editor. So with first-hand experience growing up in a tight-knit neighborhood, I know the importance of delivering news and telling stories that impact local communities. And as a breaking news editor at Patch for Metro Detroit, it's my job to deliver that news. So feel free to contact me about news tips or your own unique experiences at [email protected]

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Detroit Daily? Contact me at [email protected]

Karin Cooney’s child care center is licensed to look after 44 kids from Monday to Friday. But for months, she’s only really been able to care for around 30 — a consequence of being strapped for the certified, high-quality staff that have made her center, Angel Care Child Care, one of the most sought-after in Grand Traverse County.

With four more teachers, she might be able to make a dent in her waiting list, where 258 families have signed up in the hopes of enrolling a child. But her teachers seem to be leaving faster than she can hire new ones, part of a long-running crisis of staff turnover in early childhood education.

“It is finally blowing up,” said Cooney, who has worked in child care for 25 years. “I just can’t imagine being the parent of a young child right now.”

In a state where child care is precious, slots in facilities like Cooney’s are like gold, and they’re more valuable than previously known.

In 2021, the number of Michigan’s licensed child care providers statewide fell by 735 — a drastic one-year drop. All told, there are just 314,000 staffable slots available for nearly 560,000 children under the age of 5.

Michigan legislators have directed $1.4 billion of federal relief money toward stabilizing the child care industry. The cash, however, is a one-time fix designed to right the ship during the pandemic.

Absent a long-term policy fix, experts say, the industry is teetering on collapse as the business model for child care continues to break down.

Michigan is also trying to figure out why roughly 2,000 providers didn’t ultimately apply for stabilization grants meant to keep more day cares from going under. Experts said that concern around taxes attached to the grants caused hesitancy, as well as the application being “really complicated.” And day care owners themselves said they were resistant to state involvement in the operation of their facilities.

A consortium of newsrooms led by the nonprofit newsroom MuckRock is requesting child care data through Michigan Freedom of Information requests and conducting a first-of-its-kind data analysis of child care records. They will have stories and data to share in the coming weeks.

MuckRock also wants to hear from families and providers about Michigan’s child care crisis. Below is a form with 10 questions — some optional, some required but none for publication. You can also email the newsroom directly at [email protected] or call and leave a voicemail at (401) 830-2344.

Michigan’s child care crisis is worse than policymakers know. We want to hear from parents and providers.

In 2021, there was a loss of 735 childcare providers in Michigan. And experts say the child care industry will likely worsen, making it harder for Michigan families and the state economy. We want to hear about how Michigan’s childcare crisis is affecting you. We also want to hear from families and providers about Michigan’s childcare crisis. Below is a form with 10 questions — some optional, some required but none for publication. You can also email us directly at [email protected] or call us and leave a voicemail at (401) 830-2344.

Having trouble viewing this form? Go here.

Luca Powell is a reporter with the Traverse City Record-Eagle. You can reach him at [email protected]

Mohar Chaterjee is a reporter with MuckRock and Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation. You can reach her at [email protected]

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DETROIT (WXYZ) — A Detroit cookie business that was born out of a way to de-stress now has a new storefront right in the neighborhood where the owner grew up.

Welcome to Good Cookies— where the popularity of the confections is evident by the door that seems to regularly keep swinging open, at least it did when we were there on a random Thursday afternoon.

"I think the name of the business should be great cookies," said Ellis Mendenhall, who tells us he stops in every week to get some tasty baked goods.

The business is the culmination of the vision and talent of lifelong Detroiter Jeffrey Gisstennar.

"It started out as like kind of a life preserver, because doing real estate, it just was so stressful at the time when the market crashed, and I would come home and ... just bake," he said.

But good cookies don’t stay secret for long, and he said it was his wife who nudged him to make it official.

"When I started baking five, six dozen a week, and she was taking them to work for free and people were requesting the cookies, she said, 'we need to do something here,'" said Jeffrey.

And while the official business kicked off in 2013, Jeffrey said he opened his first brick and mortar last summer in the North Rosedale Park neighborhood, where he grew up.

"My mom is about ten blocks to the to the west ... I rode my bike through these streets forever, you know," he said.

One of his customers while we were there was Brandon Blake from Jacksonville, Florida.

"I don't care where I'm at ... anywhere in Michigan, every single time, I'm coming to Detroit to get these cookies," said Brandon.

And what is it about his cookies that has people stopping by — even when they live out of state?

Well Jeffrey wants to make it clear, it’s not because of fruit loops.

"I am a traditional cookie baker, so I don't put puddings and fruit loops and things like that in my cookies," he said.

From sugar lemon zest, to chocolate chip, to peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle and more — the razzle dazzle is in the execution.

"What gives me joy is when I get a senior come in here and eat a cookie and say, 'this reminds me of my mother's cookies,'" he said.

But while the cookies bring people in, the sense of community makes them stay. Jeffrey said his plan is to open up a patio space this summer, inviting people to do movie nights, skate nights and more.

"This community over in North Rosedale is just the best ... I love them," he said.

Currently Good Cookies is open Thursday through Saturday. For a closer look at their cookies, click here.

ROYAL OAK, MI - The Detroit Zoo’s missing 5-month old wallaby joey is believed to be dead and Zoo officials have suspended their search after “exhausting every resource at our disposal.”

The wallaby joey, which was likely snatched from above by an outside predator like an owl or hawk, was discovered missing on the morning of Mother’s Day on May 8.

“We have exhausted every resource at our disposal, spent dozens of hours reviewing all trail cam and security footage, and thoroughly searched the Zoo and surrounding areas,” Zoo officials wrote a short time ago on Facebook. “We are heartbroken that nothing has revealed to us the location of this wallaby. At this point, after so many days away from the mother, we do not believe this joey could still be alive.”

Sprocket, the Zoo’s 4-year old red-necked wallaby, is the joey’s mother. It’s her first joey. The Zoo did not know its sex yet as it had just started venturing out of its mother’s pouch. The Zoo’s Chief Life Sciences Officer told the Detroit News that they’ve never had an animal disappear like this before.

“The Detroit Zoo is a leader in animal welfare, widely known for spacious, naturalistic habitats that mimic what an animal might see in the wild,” it went on to say on Facebook. “However, when tragedies like this occur, we must review and revisit our policies and procedures to ensure we are doing everything possible to preserve the life and welfare of the animals in our care.”

This 2-acre Australian Outback Adventure is home to a total of 11 kangaroos and wallabies. There are three other wallabies at the habitat including Sprocket, Eloise and Bucky, a joey born to Eloise in 2020.

“All of us at the Detroit Zoo mourn the loss of this joey, but we take solace in knowing that the mother wallaby, 4-year-old Sprocket, appears to be healthy and doing well. Animal care staff continues to provide her, and every animal at the Zoo with the highest level of care. Thank you to everyone who followed the search for this joey and offered support. We are devastated this story did not have a happy ending.”

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