2 DPS employees, 3 parents die from coronavirus, superintendent says

DETROIT - It was a dark day for Detroit Public Schools on Monday.

Following the state's largest daily report of new COVID-19 cases in Michigan, the superintendent for DPSCD said it five members from the district to the virus.

"We learned that we lost two DPSCD employees today from two separate schools. Three parents from three different schools. One of the hardest days yet. All to this awful virus. My heart is in pain for their families and our district and school families," tweeted Dr. Nikolai Vitti Monday.

Despite the governor's action to temporarily close all public schools in Michigan earlier in March, the transmission of the coronavirus has still been rampant in cities - especially in Detroit. Along with the more than 1,800 confirmed cases from the city alone, there have also been 52 deaths.

With the coronavirus spreading at a rampant pace around the state, it's claimed the lives of police officials, factory line workers, and community leaders.

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Detroit has become one of the hardest-hit cities in the U.S., with only New York City and New Orleans registering more cases. Aside from the public space that accompanies any city, Detroit is also located next to an international airport that hosts a lot of travelers from Europe and China - one possible reason that Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan thinks the number of cases has climbed so fast.

However, the city's poverty level is another indicator of why coronavirus has spread so quickly. Where 3 out of 10 residents live below poverty and a large part of the population has been diagnosed with asthma or other breathing problems, the conditions are ripe for a pandemic to spread easily in the city.