'Access to clean water is a basic human right': Detroit suspends shutoffs over Covid-19 fears

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Source: The Guardian

'Access to clean water is a basic human right': Detroit suspends shutoffs over Covid-19 fears

Water to be temporarily restored to thousands of households who had service disconnected due to unpaid bills amid public health outcry

Nina Lakhani
Thu 12 Mar 2020 09.00 GMT
Last modified on Thu 12 Mar 2020 12.03 GMT

Running water will be temporarily restored to thousands of poor Detroit residents disconnected due to unpaid bills, amid an outcry about the public health threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak.

At least 141,000 Detroit households have been disconnected since 2014 as part of a widely condemned debt-collection programme, according to records obtained by Bridge, a news magazine. Just last year, taps were turned off in more than 23,000 homes, three-fifths of which were still without water by mid-January 2020.

There is no vaccine or treatment for coronavirus, also known as Covid-19. According to the World Health Organization, good hygiene, specifically frequent handwashing with soap, is crucial to prevent the virus spreading.

Amid growing pressure to act, Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and Detroit city officials this week announced plans to stop shutoffs and temporarily reconnect water services for all residents, as part of a plan to prevent spread of the coronavirus.

“The state is stepping up to cover the cost of water restoration for the first 30 days, because it’s the right thing to do to keep families safe and protect public health,” Whitmer said.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/12/detroit-water-shutoffs-unpaid-bills-coronavirus

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