(WWJ) A huge thank you banner was erected at the west end of William Beaumont Hospital in Troy, right outside the emergency room entrance.
"Good for them!" WWJ's Charlie Langton said when he spotted the homemade sign that well wishers left to boost tired spirits.
Strain has been evident for first responders and healthcare workers in metro Detroit, an epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. New numbers Monday afternoon show Michigan has 17,221 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, with a total of 727 related deaths statewide. The official count, documented daily by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, includes 1,503 new cases and 110 additional deaths reported on Monday.
A sit-in was staged at Sinai Grace in Detroit early Monday by nurses who said they were overwhelmed and overworked by the sheer number of severely ill patients each of them was responsible for. One night had two nurses for 26 patients, they said.
And some healthcare workers are being told to stay home for seven days if they're sick, or at least three days after their symptoms pass.
WWJ's Mike Campbell revealed some staggering numbers Tuesday morning: Beaumont and Henry Ford health systems have at least 2,200 employees who have symptoms or have tested positive for coronavirus in the last few weeks.
Beaumont has 1,500 workers afflicted, and Henry Ford has 734 who tested positive, or 2% of their total workforce.
