The coronavirus pandemic has upended lives all across the globe – including right here in Michigan.

Residents of our state are experiencing first-hand the fear, death and isolation brought on by the global pandemic. Most have been ordered to stay home by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, essential workers like doctors, nurses and law enforcement are bravely caring for the sick and keeping us safe.

Throughout the outbreak, MLive photographers have spent time with people all over Michigan – police chiefs, shop owners, politicians and regular everyday residents – as they go about their days, many in isolation.

These are just some of the pictures our photographers have captures, the portraits of a pandemic in Michigan.

If you have ideas for photos or stories during the pandemic, please contact Jake May at jmay2@mlive.com for the Flint and Genesee County area. Contact Kaytie Boomer at kboomer@mlive.com for the Saginaw and Bay City area.

Sarahbeth Maney | MLive.com

Joelena Freeman

Joelena “JoJo” Freeman, 41, is a community activist with the Democracy Defense League, seen here on March 23 at her Flint home.

“We’re still in a water crisis and we still can’t drink the water here and we’re still getting our pipes fixed,” said Freeman, who was born and raised in Flint. "The water crisis is not over yet and on top of that we have this pandemic. I’m extremely scared. I have kids here in the house that have compromised immune systems, so I’m worried as a mom, and wondering if I’m doing enough.”

Riley Yuan | MLive.com

Savannah Lintz

On the night of March 26, Savannah Lintz of Bay City sits at a table in front of her living room window, sewing face masks.

Her partner Andrew plays behind her with their boys Max, 2, and Lucas, 1, and the family dog. A pair of thin oxygen tubes snake across the floor, trailing behind the boys as they roll and scamper around.

A year and four months ago, Lucas was born at 22 weeks with amniotic band syndrome, weighing barely over a pound.

It had come down to a choice between Lucas’s life and Savannah’s. And the emergency C-section that delivered Lucas was the result of a last-minute decision to stop Savannah’s bleeding and give her her best chance of survival. Lucas made it too and has spent about half of his past year of life in the hospital. He still needs oxygen and a feeding tube and deals with chronic respiratory issues.

As such, Savannah and Andrew are used to worrying “that a cold or a flu could kill Lucas.” They’re used to doing everything that authorities are recommending people do now in response to the coronavirus, and they wish the general public would take those recommendations more seriously—"for themselves but also for kids like Lucas who already had to fight just to be here today," says Savannah.

In the meantime, she is ready to step up and give back to the same nurses and healthcare workers who saved her and Lucas’s lives.

“We’ve become friends with nurses in NICU who still keep up with Lucas to this day,” says Savannah. “Even a year after he’s been out of the NICU, his nurses are still saying, ‘Hey, keep him home. Hey, how’s he doing?’”

Sewing masks, when it became clear that local hospitals needed them, was something that Savannah “knew immediately [she] had to do.”

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Samantha Sexton

Samantha Sexton recently graduated in May 2019 and has been working as a registered nurse at Covenant HealthCare since then, currently in the progressive cardiac unit. The specifics of her job haven’t changed much other than rationing masks due to the national shortage and being more conscious about the threat of this pandemic.

"In the past, prior to the pandemic, it never caused me any stress to be taking care of patients with possible communicable illnesses," she said. "I just applied standard precautions to every patient, but with this virus, some people don't know they have it and it is then spread to those who can't fight it."

Outside of the hospital, Sexton continues to take social distancing seriously by staying away from family to protect everyone. She uses any extra time to spend with her partner working on home improvement projects, gaming and attempting to focus on what’s going on in the community.

“We’re all scared and anxious about the unknown, we’re learning more and more about this disease every day,” Sexton said. “Stay home, stay healthy mentally and physically, and we’ll come out of this on the other side hopefully sooner rather than later.”

Jake May | MLive.com

The Larkin family

Brian Larkin stands with his wife DeAndra Larkin and her 9-year-old daughter Leila Robinson at their home on March 30 in Flint.

“While staying home has been a challenging time it has also been a time of bonding, which as parents we are grateful for. Being able to focus on playing games, having more lighthearted conversations, taking walks -- (it) has been the silver lining amid the pandemic,” DeAndra said. “We have spent time, like many families, balancing working from home and being good home school teachers. What do we miss the most? Visiting friends and family, other casual in-person interactions, shopping, the gym and trampoline parks.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Felicia Johnson-McGee

Felicia Johnson-McGee lays her palm to the glass of her window on March 19 at her home in Flint.

Funerals for loved ones are changing as the impact of coronavirus is felt in Michigan.

Johnson-McGee was at a funeral recently when the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic sunk in for her.

“The first thing people wanted to do was hug me and I felt rude because I had to say, `Remember we can’t hug, we can’t touch each other.’ That’s what’s making this real for me,” Johnson-McGee said.

Riley Yuan | MLive.com

Ashley Stantz

Ashley Stantz is a fourth-year medical student at Central Michigan University. She, several of her classmates, and other medical personnel affiliated with Great Lakes Bay Health Centers volunteered to staff the clinic’s drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in downtown Saginaw—the first in the city. She is pictured here on March 24, on her second day at the site.⁣

Here is what she wrote on Facebook shortly thereafter:⁣

"I didn’t train for this: to help providers take nasal cell samples from sick and worried patients in a parking lot, to stand six feet from my fellow human beings, to gown up, glove up, mask up ... just to talk to a patient while I stand a dog’s leash away. I didn’t train to be leery of a patient who is coughing and can’t breathe properly — looking at me with scared eyes ... I didn’t train to come home to my garage and strip off clothing every single day. I didn’t train to worry about kissing my husband.⁣

I trained to care for patients and this is my new world. I’m adjusting. I don’t want to—but I will. As the world trembles around us all, I will suit up, mask up, glove up, and radiate all the care and love to my patients that I can with only my eyes and and sometimes my voice.⁣

When this is over, and I pray that day will come ... I will cherish human interactions more than I have in the past, cherish hugs, cherish a hand on a shoulder of a crying patient. I will cherish the smiles that are now covered and masked.⁣

This is my medical school graduating portrait. I will have no cap and gown. No dress. No fancy shoes. I will not walk a stage. I will not shake any hands. I will not smile and hold my diploma for my senior portrait. I can not do any of these things.⁣

I can and will go into the fray, join the battle as I am able ... I will do everything I can to care for the sick, vulnerable, and scared ... for this is what I am trained to do."

Sarahbeth Maney | MLive.com

Bob Ennis

Bob Ennis, 76, Founder and President of Ennis Center for Children, poses for a portrait on Friday, March 27 at his home in Byron.

“It’s scary and it’s a big responsibility,” said Ennis, whose team serves 500 children in the foster care system on a daily basis. “We are pushing hard to stay supportive and stay connected. And for me, I stay praying. This is a very scary time but we will get through it.”

Riley Yuan | MLive.com

Jeremy Strobel

In recent weeks, Saginaw Transit Authority & Regional Services (STARS) has aggressively cut back on services in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent buses from becoming a point of contagion.

Glenn Steffens, the transit authority’s executive director, has acknowledged that service reduction and changes in protocol constitute a logistical burden and that some might see them as an overreaction. But he considers their implementation to be the obvious response to a simple risk analysis.

"What do we have to risk by being cautious?" he asked. "Even if there's only a small chance that this thing is as bad as we think it might be, isn't it worth being inconvenienced for a couple of weeks, rather than turning out to be wrong and seeing loved ones becoming sick and dying? It's a no-brainer."

Steffens is willing to stake STARS's fiscal line on these precautions, if they can ensure the safety of passengers and staff along with the long-term viability of the organization. "It's about the public need," he said. "I'm paying people overtime to clean buses. I don't necessarily have a budget for that. But we're going do it. Because that's what the public needs right now."

Among those who have taken on extra cleaning duties are Jeremy Strobel, photographed above shortly after deep-cleaning a bus at the STARS garage on March 17 in Saginaw. When asked what he though of STARS preventative measures, he replied, “I think we’re doing the right thing.”

To those who are not willing or have already refused to comply with the new protocols, Steffens has a simple message: “I’d ask you to walk for now, because I can’t compromise.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Erinn Louis

Erinn Louis, 15, daydreams while looking out of a window at her house in Flint.

She doesn’t want to fall behind in her studies, even though students are no longer completing the rest of this academic school year in Michigan.

“I’m trying to go to school because I want to try and graduate early,” she said. “I don’t know how the system works, but it worries me that none of us are learning. How are we going to do our tests? How are we supposed to get to the next grade? This stuff is important to us kids, and we need our education.”

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Joel and Peggy Tacey

Joel and Peggy Tacey hold hands while posing for a portrait during the coronavirus outbreak in Bay City on Wednesday, March 18. During this time, Joel is out of his dream job of a traveling magician and began a personal delivery service for those in need. Joel and three other delivery drivers are covering the greater Bay City and Midland areas.

“When this happened, my first thought of course was to protect my family and make sure things are good at home, but my immediate second thought was ‘OK, well how can I help people and how can I possibly turn it into a business?’” Joel said. “There is a vulnerable crowd out there that really can’t leave their homes.”

Along with the new business, both Joel and Peggy have gained a stronger respect for teachers as they try to plan a schedule for their four children to stick to including homework, activities and outdoor time.

"It's showing an appreciation for everybody in the medical field, everybody that are teachers, everybody that, you know, we take for granted," Peggy said.

Together, the Taceys are confident they will pull through this.

"I'm just trying to keep it positive and grounded because I'm sure things are going to go back to normal, it's just a matter of when," Joel said.

Joel can be reached for his delivery service at 989-906-4046.

Jake May | MLive.com

Peter McFray

People may have distanced themselves from one another, but a Flint DJ is keeping them dancing.

Peter McFray, 32 of Flint, held a virtual dance party on Facebook Live Saturday, March 21, that raised $10,000 in donations for the Greater Flint Urgent Relief Fund. The day before, he raised $516 for the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.

“I’m still kind of beside myself on the whole deal," he said. "It’s not something I ever set out to do but it’s obviously something that turned out incredible.”

The live streams run on his own personal Facebook page. They have received thousands of views and up to 300 people tuned as the event was going, he said. Because DJing is his primary job, McFray said he found himself at a loss on what to do Friday and Saturday nights. All events had been canceled and people were holing up at home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

So McFray decided to try out a Facebook Live party in his own living room Friday.

“We have to find something within the confines of our own normal to make our confines as normal as we can,” he said.

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Linda Gray

Linda Gray, 64, is pictured at the City Rescue Mission in Saginaw.

"Coming to the shelter is not a thing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of because once you get over that and you're here, you see that the staff is of people of love and concern for you, for your family," Gray said.

While residing at the shelter, she is saving up money to be able to get a place to live on her own. For now, though, Gray is very grateful to have a clean place to live and eat.

“We’ve had all the necessary things to clean with, to disinfect with, to use to prepare us for cleaning our area,” Gray said. “We have been very well protected on our floor.”

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Sarah Sexton

Sarah Sexton breaks down after walking into Public House, a bar she manages in downtown Bay City, after not being there since before the shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. Since the shutdown, Sexton has been experiencing heightened anxiety with panic attacks as she goes longer and longer without a paycheck.

"I've been listening to Nick Cave a lot. I know people think he's depressing, but he speaks the truth, and this one song I've had on repeat is 'Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere?' and that's exactly how I feel. People ask what my next step is, what I'm going to do, how I'm going to handle it and I have no answers," Sexton said.

She continues to follow the CDC recommendations, especially since she has parents who fall under the weakened immune system demographic. While distancing herself from family, she said it’s also hard to keep in touch with them as she’s constantly worrying about the bills stacking up that she won’t be able to pay.

“It feels like we’re all climbing up this capitalistic mountain and now there’s this avalanche and the rescue team is up in their helicopters just watching it all happen,” she said. “It just shouldn’t be left up to the community alone. We need more help.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Eric and Jessica Weaver

Jessica Weaver, left, and her husband Eric Weaver are seen through a window in their living room alongside their two children, 4-year-old Cameron and 1-year-old Julian, on Wednesday, April 1 in Flint.

The family has chosen to stay at home for the safety of themselves and their community. It’s changed small habits like family grocery trips with Eric traveling solo to keep the kids from potential exposure to coronavirus.

Jessica had just paid her first month’s rent on a studio space downtown to start her photography business, but worries that it won’t be possible to continue after this -- a concern many business owners have echoed.

“It’s good and bad. You’ve got to stay in the house, but you get a lot of home projects done,” Eric said. Jessica was quick to add with a laugh, “You know, the honey-do list."

“Everybody is impacted. It’s just a trickle down effect. It’s changing from taking your kids to child care, and now you are home with them, all while trying to work from home and tying up loose ends,” Jessica said. “We have to work on flattening this curve.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Elizabeth Lee

Elizabeth Lee, 35 of Grand Blanc, looks out of the window of Clio business Belill Eye Care, where she is the lone staffer to come in for two hours daily to field calls and connect with patients.

Belill Eye Care closed to protect staff and patients, and to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

Lee has three children at home, and said education and socializing with friends has been a challenge.

“We need to make sure that they are still able to get the best out of life in this time when their lives are completely turned upside down,” Lee said. “I definitely miss social interaction. It’s just a strange thing that’s happening -- this once in a lifetime event. You used to be able to come to work and socialize with your fellow employees, and for all of us, this is just completely different."

Sarahbeth Maney | MLive.com

Danielle Dickson

When children walk into Danielle Dickson’s daycare, their temperature is taken, they’re asked screening questions, then they’re brought straight to the bathroom to wash themselves and change into freshly sanitized clothing.

The Dicksons started their own system of sanitizing clothing two weeks ago, having parents and guardians drop off a weeks worth of outfits over the weekend.

The other precautions were mandated after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Monday, March 23, order that people remain at home as cases of COVID-19 spread across Michigan.

With the new executive order, parents and guardians must also submit a form proving they are part of the “essential workforce,” Dickson said.

She and her husband, Brian, started Farm Days Childcare out of their house in Millington in January after they had a new baby. She said she’s happy they can still work and play their part in supporting the essential workforce.

“I love being with the kids,” Dickson said.

Jamie Forbes

Working from home has amounted to an awkward change of pace for Jamie Forbes, Saginaw councilwoman and STARS’s director of external affairs.

“My job is being out in the community, and now I’m not out in the community,” she says. “I’m used to being so busy that I don’t even have time to think, and now I’m wondering what to do.”

On the afternoon of March 21, Jamie and her partner Cam sat in Jamie’s house in Saginaw and looked out the living room window.

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Norman Norwood

Norman Norwood Jr. puts his mask on during the coronavirus outbreak in Saginaw.

Norwood is a part of a group of community members who began an organization called Proactive Community Involvement (PCI) to make sure families are fed during the pandemic.

“I love it. I really like when some of the houses we go to when you knock on the door, you hear the kids hollering and yelling and saying, ‘Oh yay, lunch is here!’” Norwood said. “That’s like the best feeling. That’s the real reason of why I do it, is really to see the smile on the adult’s faces and the kids hollering, smiling and being excited.”

Sarahbeth Maney | MLive.com

The Hensley family

Zakk, 27, left, and Kade Hensley, 26, pose for a photo with their 1-year-old son Leo, on Tuesday, March 24 at their home in Flint.

The couple has been taking walks through their new neighborhood and social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Owner Tim Ciesielski and Nora Wiedyk, a manager and chef, bump elbows as a way of greeting one another during the coronavirus outbreak, inside The Tool Shed Bar and Grill in Munger.

The Tool Shed Bar and Grill just opened on Oct. 5, 2019 and like all other restaurants and bars in Michigan, they were forced to close dine-in services due to the pandemic.

"We were thanked [by community members] when we opened back up so they could all get together and socialize again," Ciesielski said. "The people in this community are overwhelmingly supportive. They don't want us to have to close up."

During this time, they have remained open for take-out orders only from 11 a.m. to at least 7 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and noon to at least 7 p.m. on Sunday.

They have also been providing lunch for students pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade and plan to do so until they are back in school or if restaurants are closed completely. While the Ciesielskis are devastated they can’t pay their bartenders and other employees right now, they are continuously grateful for their neighbor JB’s Market as well as the community for their support.

“We’re all emotional of course. Sometimes we just sit here and cry,” Ciesielski said. “If everyone in the world treated everybody like the people in Munger treat each other, it’d be a great place to live. Everybody just helps everybody.”

Riley Yuan | MLive.com

The Wallace family

Graisen Wallace, 6, watches a video at his Bay City home on March 20.

He has been staying home with his family - parents Adam and Sara Wallace and brother Liam, 7.

The boys watch recorded school lessons, build blanket forts in their rooms and birdwatch in the backyard.

Before coronavirus hit, the boys were playing hockey five nights per week. Then came Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order on March 23. Until then, Graisen and Liam had at least been able to see their next door playmates through the fence. Now, the kids aren’t even allowed to be outside at the same time.

“They feel like they did something to cause this,” Sara says over the phone. “It’s hard for them to comprehend that it’s not what they did.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Gina Luster

Flint resident Gina Luster had a trip planned to go to Geneva, Switzerland with her daughter Kennedy for World Water Week.

That was postponed. Luster, a water activist, continues to talk about the Flint water crisis in forums and wants to keep people informed. That was her hope for this trip, while she and her daughter could learn about the rest of the world’s water needs.

“Everything looked fine up until 72 hours before the trip. Then President Trump announced that he had banned U.S. citizens to travel to Europe. But glad I knew before because we could have landed and been stuck there, who knows? ... My daughter is a little disappointed, but she understands that we can’t jeopardize our health or anyone else’s health."

Riley Yuan | MLive.com

Paige Wendling and Branden Dwyer

Paige Wendling and her boyfriend, Branden Dwyer, are unafraid to say what they think of the 20-something year-olds who made headlines this past month for ignoring social distancing guidelines and partying instead. The pair are also in their early 20s. But when asked what differentiates them from their peers, Branden’s answer is simple: “Responsibility.”

"A sense of reality," Paige adds. "We moved out when we were 17, so we get it."

Branden has been able, thus far, to continue working as a CNC lathe operator at Orchid Orthodontic Solutions in Bridgeport. Paige lost her job as a server at Logan's Roadhouse when restaurants closed. They feel the pinch. But neither sees any point in resenting the government, news organizations, or anybody else who might be the bearer of bad news.

If anything, what frustrates Paige is that so many people were so cavalier until so late. When asked what she thinks of the statewide stay-at-home order, Paige replies, “It should have happened sooner.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Ben and Patrick Kehoe

Brothers Ben, left, and Patrick Kehoe stand at a bedroom window on Friday, March 20 in Fenton.

The Kehoe family of Fenton found a way to distract themselves while stuck at home amid the coronavirus outbreak -- a golden doodle puppy they named Goose.

The family had a golden retriever for many years and couldn’t bring themselves to find a new one since she passed away three years ago, said mother Andrea Kehoe.

But when she and her husband Mike realized the family would be confined to the house for at least a few weeks, they thought it would be the perfect time to welcome a new family member.

“It’s a good way to combat everything that we all of a sudden weren’t able to do,” Andrea Kehoe said.

Sarahbeth Maney | MLive.com

Kyna and Zion Taylor

Kyna, 46, and her son Zion Taylor, 17, pose for a photo with their dog, Simba, while taking a walk on Wednesday, March 24 in Flint.

“We’re trying to have more game time (as a family) and sit at the dinner table for a change,” said Kyna. “We’re just keeping everyone in our prayers right now.”

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Chris Neal

Chef Chris Neal, also known as Chef Tic to regulars, poses for a photograph at Mean Rooster Diner during the coronavirus outbreak in Bay City on Monday, March 23.

As take-out is still an option for the public, Chef Tic continues to use his passion to create sandwiches and soups. He has remained busy thanks to the loyal customers who continue to order food.

“It’s not really stopping them from coming, which is great for us,” Neal said.

Jake May | MLive.com

The Fischer family

Amber and Michael Fischer stand together with their children Arabella, 10, Georgia, 8, Zebadiah, 14, and Knox, 12 through a doorway on March 19 in Flint.

The family moved to Michigan from Richmond, Virginia recently. On the sidewalk in front of their house, the children took the time to write positive messages to encourage their neighbors while people are asked to practice social distancing.

Amber Fischer said people will walk by, stop and take photos and take time to read the messages. Many, she said, walking away with a smile.

“Just knowing that it brings little sparks of joy,” she said. “It’s a reminder to ourselves to pause and take a deep breath. It’s easy to get frustrated right now, so it’s a reminder to be kind to one another.”

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Nick Roberts

Nick Roberts turned to Good Samaritan Rescue Mission in Bay City when he was injured in a severe car crash and the hospital bills stacked up after receiving surgeries and paying for medications. He ran out of money because of the accident, medical bills and daily expenses.

"I just lost everything," Roberts said. "My job, my apartment, my vehicle I was paying payments on and I had nowhere else to turn to and someone was telling me about the Bay City mission and I came here."

As for now, he worries about his family contracting the virus while they're out in the world and he stays in the shelter.

“Let’s hope to get this disease thing over with so we can all get back to running our lives,” Roberts said.

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Craig Owczarzak

Owner Craig Owczarzak poses for a photograph at Meats and Mooore during the coronavirus outbreak in Bay City on Monday, March 23.

“We’ve been just booming. Every angle of my business has been flourishing huge amounts,” Owczarzak said. “We’ll make sure there’s meat for everybody, at least we’ll do our best job ever.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Bob Rentschler

Mott Community College professor Bob Rentschler’s commute to work has shortened from a 20 minute drive to a short walk down the stairs of his Fenton home.

It took five years for Rentschler, a photography professor for 15 years, to remodel his basement. Now, he has transformed it into a multipurpose classroom.

“It was a rush every day to get it to this point and now it’s working," he said. “Now we’re starting to refine it.”

Class for many students is a break from the constant reminder that the country is currently in a pandemic, he said.

“I don’t talk much about it, this confined situation we’re in in my videos. I get right to the content," Rentschler said. "Let’s get their brain focused on something else for 20, 30 minutes, then give them an assignment and make them stay busy for an hour, hour and a half.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Nolan Ward

Nolan Ward, general manager at The Torch Bar and Grill, looks out the window at an empty alley before locking up and closing the doors on Friday, March 20 in downtown Flint.

After staying open for takeout orders for a week, The Torch has closed its doors temporarily to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“The economy is going to tank because of this, I know that,” Ward said. “Nothing like this has happened in our lifetimes, definitely not to this scale. It’s freaky, honestly. Nobody knows what is going to happen.”

Jake May | MLive.com

Corey Luster

Flint resident Corey Luster, 37, said talking to your children about what is happening about the coronavirus is important.

Luster said she is a CNN junkie, and does all she can do to keep them informed.

“For me to see them growing and living through this situation, you really see what the world is capable of,” Luster said. “It’s not just important to keep them safe, but we need to show them what is going on in other countries, not just here. To know what’s happening in China and in Wuhan.

"I’ll stop the whole house and tell them to watch and listen. You need to understand the past and present to better your future.”

Jake May | MLive.com

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee

“I feel a particular obligation to level with people, and to not try to pretend that this isn’t something awful because it really is. It’s just terrible,” said U.S. Rep. Dan. Kildee, of Michigan’s 5th congressional district, about the coronavirus. “It’s especially important that people can get credible information from the people who should be providing them that information, and to not sugarcoat it in any way. This is going to be hard. It’s going to be harder every week for awhile.

Kildee is pictured here at his Flint Township home.

"We’re all going to know someone that we lose from this terrible thing. Hopefully for most of us, it’s not somebody close. This is going to be hard, but it doesn’t take away from who we are. What I hope for is that we do everything we can to minimize the pain and minimize the loss.”

Sarahbeth Maney | MLive.com

Kamaron Williams

Kamaron Williams, 24, poses for a portrait at a bus stop on Wednesday, March 18 in Flint.

“I wouldn’t be wearing these (mask and gloves) if it wasn’t for my mom and my little brother.”

Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

Matt Woods

Owner Matt Woods chats with some of the employees as they pick up their last paycheck for a while inside Bell Bar in Bay City on Friday, March 20.

All employees have taken quite a hit after the shutdown of most businesses in Michigan. They are completely closed while this executive order is in place. The Woods’ family greatly appreciates their customers and is thinking of them in this shutdown period.

“I worry about the people who are older who don’t have connections besides this. This is their connection with other people,” Woods said.

Jake May | MLive.com

Gavin Black

Clio fourth-grader Gavin Black, 10, looks out the window while taking a break between homework assignments on March 18 at his mother’s house in Flint.

He shares a computer with his sister daily, as each needs it to complete their work online.

Jake May | MLive.com

Nicholas and Katie Cotton

Nicholas Cotton kisses wife Katie on the forehead on March 25 in Flint.

Katie is filing for unemployment. Nicholas, a mathematics teacher at Mott Middle College, is learning to teach from home.

“We used to fill our schedule with so much stuff, and then it just stopped. It’s crazy. People are dying. That reality is just terrifying," Nicholas Cotton said.

The two were married in July 2019, and haven’t had the chance to honeymoon yet.

“This is the most time we’ve spent together since our wedding day,” Katie Cotton said. “It’s been awesome. We haven’t really slowed down since last summer. This gives us that opportunity.”