DETROIT, Michigan — It is easy to understand why Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine are anxiously watching Michigan's fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
Wayne County, specifically Detroit, has seemingly become the epicenter.
On Friday, health officials announced that 12,744 of the state's residents are or were infected with the virus. In Detroit, the number went up by 692 on Friday to 3,550. The rest of the county added another 2,546 infected. Detroit and Wayne County have accounted for 223 of the state's 479 deaths.
But why are the cases growing even more quickly than even New York City?
Dr. Teena Chopra, an infectious disease specialist for Detroit Medical Center, pointed to sociological factors such as Detroit's poverty, which means some residents don't have fresh water to wash their hands or may be crammed into smaller houses that prevent large families from social distancing.
And Detroit is an unhealthy city, in general, with more than 40% of the residents obese, many of those people suffering from asthma or other underlying conditions.
But she also pointed to other factors. Ohio canceled its March 17 presidential primary, but Michigan held its on March 10. The first case of the coronavirus was announced in Washington in January. It originated before that in Wuhan, China.
On March 6, more than 6,000 people attended a rally in Detroit for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. And until late January, the city's airport was still conducting direct flights to Wuhan, China. In addition, the city's automakers have multiple plants in China and Italy, another early hot spot in the pandemic.
So in early March, there were likely several people who attended the rally and others arriving in the city after trips to China and Italy who were likely infected. Those people could have walked around for two weeks before symptoms developed, infecting others who they met.
In more ways than one, Detroit has developed into a perfect storm - a storm raging 50 miles north of Toledo.
NEWS OF THE DAY
- Ohio's cases now top 3,000.
- Cases in Lucas County jump to 227 and the county announces a mental health line for those experiencing stress from the pandemic.
- Ohio's health director Amy Acton says 20 percent of the state's infected are health workers.
- Ohio considers releasing 38 inmates because of the virus.
- Global cases surpass 1.1 million, with at least 275,000 in the United States.