Name: Detroit mayor calls for governor and hospitals to allow more medical procedures
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Detroit mayor calls for governor and hospitals to allow more medical procedures

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Detroit Free Press Mayor Mike Duggan gratefully accepted nearly a half million masks and goggles&nbsp;Thursday,&nbsp;then urged the governor to allow&nbsp;hospitals to resume routine medical procedures.The 350,000 N-95 masks and 100,000 goggles . Joe Tsai is co-founder of Chinese online marketplace Alibaba and owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Tsai held a small business forum in Detroit in 2017 and said he and his wife's fond memories of the city include dinner at Selden Standard and a trip to Avalon Bakery.&nbsp;"We asked ourselves, 'What are the cities that are hardest hit in America?'" Tsai said during the mayor's daily briefing, which he joined remotely from Hong Kong. He said he likes Detroit because it "really represents that rugged, small-business character."The Detroit Pistons will transport the personal protective equipment on the last leg of its journey from China by hauling it from&nbsp;Chicago to Detroit.&nbsp;After encouraging Tsai to return to Detroit to do business, Duggan cited figures showing that the number COVID-19 deaths has fallen dramatically from just a few weeks ago. Earlier this month, nearly 300 people died during a 7-day period. In the most recent 7-day period, that number had fallen to 92.Duggan said the success of efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus has resulted in 700 empty hospital beds in Detroit, and 100 empty ICU beds. So he said he plans to spend the next week lobbying Gov. Gretchen Whitmer&nbsp;and hospital officials to provide more medical services."The one thing I’m really calling on our governor and our hospitals and our doctors to work on is opening up the rest of the medical system," Duggan said. "Having 700 empty beds is something we never saw in this city in a normal year."The mayor said he is&nbsp;concerned state restrictions on hospital procedures, and Detroiters' concerns about possible infection, mean people are not getting needed medical attention.“The black-and-white health care disparity in this country didn’t start with COVID-19, it’s been here for a long time," Duggan said. "And when you can’t get in to your doctor, or you can’t get in to your hospital, the disparity gets even worse."We have people in Detroit today who are not getting their sickle cell treatment, 'cause they don’t want to go in to the doctor or the hospital. We’ve got people who are not going in to the doctor to take care of their diabetes. We have people with heart issues who have not gone in for angioplasty. We have people who have been told ‘You’ve got a lump' and they haven’t gone in to get a biopsy for their cancer.”Whitmer was asked Wednesday about lifting a ban on non-essential medical procedures, and said she has been having “intensive conversations” with health experts and hospital leaders. She said she&nbsp;expected to have something to report “in the coming days.”The mayor said it made sense two weeks ago to avoid hospitals and medical facilities, because the COVID-19 pandemic was at a peak. He said now that the infection rate is slowing, hospitals can meet the&nbsp;demand for other services. And Duggan, a former CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, said hospitals know how to safely separate patients from&nbsp;infectious disease units.“I really see the next big health issue in this city being sure that everybody can get in to be taken care of as you were," Duggan said. "You need to go back to seeing your doctor for your chronic conditions."In other news, Detroit's Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair said at 2 p.m. that 9,036 Detroiters have been infected with the coronavirus, and 1,036 have died.Police Chief James Craig, who recovered from COVID-19, said the city's effort to test first responders has been a success. He said 69 police employees are currently infected. Overall, 299 police and civilian department employees have tested positive.While the department at one time had more than 500 of its 2,500 employees quarantined, Craig said screening and rapid testing has reduced that number to 99 police and civilian department employees currently in quarantine.&nbsp;On Wednesday, Duggan start working Monday on&nbsp;city contracts worth $110 million. Duggan said another 200 city workers would be recalled to patch potholes and repair city streets.&nbsp; &nbsp;On Tuesday, would get back to work cutting the grass at city parks and other facilities.&nbsp;Follow Detroit Free Press on Twitter (@freep), Instagram (@detroitfreepress) and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress).

Detroit Free Press Mayor Mike Duggan gratefully accepted nearly a half million masks and goggles&nbsp;Thursday,&nbsp;then urged the governor to allow&nbsp;hospitals to resume routine medical procedures.The 350,000 N-95 masks and 100,000 goggles . Joe Tsai is co-founder of Chinese online marketplace Alibaba and owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. Tsai held a small business forum in Detroit in 2017 and said he and his wife's fond memories of the city include dinner at Selden Standard and a trip to Avalon Bakery.&nbsp;"We asked ourselves, 'What are the cities that are hardest hit in America?'"...

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The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primarily serves Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Washtenaw, and Monroe counties.  The Free Press is also the largest city newspaper owned by Gannett, which also publishes USA Today. The Free Press has received ten Pulitzer Prizes and four Emmy Awards. Its motto is "On Guard for 189 Years".

Detroit mayor calls for governor and hospitals to allow more medical procedures

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