After months of being separated from her husband during the COVID lockdown, Melanie Zeiger was thrilled to move Jerry into adult foster care, where she could hold his hand. Then COVID returned to the state’s long-term care centers, isolating them once more.

Michigan Republicans want to investigate “imbalanced” precincts in Wayne County. But those precincts likely involve fewer than 500 votes in a state Donald Trump lost by 154,000. Waiting for an audit can only serve to delay, not alter the outcome.

After meeting with President Trump, the Republican House leader for the first time raises the possibility that a breakdown of Michigan’s elections process may create a ‘constitutional crisis’ that lawmakers must resolve.

Under a torrent of criticism, a contingent of GOP lawmakers meets with President Trump in Washington days before Michigan is to certify the presidential election. The lawmakers say they talked about COVID.

Rick Snyder, Jennifer Granholm and John Engler call on state canvassers to put aside politics, unfounded fraud claims and pressure from President Trump and certify Biden’s 150,000 vote victory.

The public health system is so overwhelmed, health departments are advising residents not to expect a call from contact tracers if they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, federal money may soon run out.

The battle for Michigan turns Monday to the state Board of Canvassers, where a key Republican is threatening to refuse to certify the election until after an audit. But experts say that’s not allowed — and could take so long it would delay the awarding of Michigan electors for president.

The students who need in-person instruction the most are among the least likely to get it, new Michigan data shows.

The restaurant industry warns that 250,000 employees could be laid off under new COVID-19 restrictions. A judge denied a request for an injunction, but the trade group’s suit seeking to overturn the measure continues.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has dismissed a complaint challenging the 2018 permit that allows the company to increase its withdrawals form the Osceola County well, concluding Nestlé’s opponents should have taken their case to court.

A worst-case scenario calls for 1,000 weekly Michigan deaths from coronavirus by year’s end if we don’t change our ways. But getting compliance from those opposed to government pandemic orders is proving a hard sell.

The sadness and stress of handling so many COVID patients is getting to the state’s frontline health care workers, many of whom already struggled to cope in a job with long hours, little gratitude and daily tragedy.