DETROIT (WXYZ) — It's estimated that between 600 and 700 employees for Henry Ford Health System have tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19), a doctor for the hospital confirmed to 7 Action News on Monday.
This comes as the state announced over 17,000 positive cases for the virus and 727 confirmed deaths on Monday.
“When you are talking about testing positive in the midst of this pandemic... if we are to test the whole population, you are going to see staggering numbers of people who are testing positive,” said Dr. Dr. Adnan Munkarah with Henry Ford. “We need to remember that testing positive is just a measure of how contagious this virus is at the present time.”
Metro Detroit hospitals have been overwhelmed by the spread of the coronavirus, with medical leaders calling on the state to do more to help spread patients out across hospital systems.
Henry Ford didn't confirm how many, if any, of the infected employees have died because of the virus due to employee privacy. The company also hasn't released additional information on this new development.
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