Imagine this: Macomb County’s top two officials leading off an online video presentation about deaths and infections from the coronavirus with giggles and chatter and a discussion about the best bagels in the county.

That was the opening moments of the latest “Covid-19 Update” show hosted by County Executive Mark Hackel and Deputy Executive. John Paul Rea. The giggling begins when Rea doesn’t realize the cameras started rolling as he was still casually sorting through some Covid statistics.

Hackel, munching on pieces of a bagel, tells his audience that he and his sidekick are marking “National Bagel Day” thanks to the show’s sponsor, Elaine’s Bagels in Clinton Township.

The inanity ensues as Rea declares, in Dale Carnegie-style tones, that Elaine’s has the best cream cheese around. Then he offers a tip for the folks watching back home about how to best apply cream cheese to your bagel. Hackel intones: “OK, toasted or not toasted?”

“Half-toasted,” Rea responds. A large basket of bagels sits in front of these two executives, much like on a cooking show on afternoon TV.

After a few minutes of this cheezy conversation, they get down to business. The county, they report, has seen a significant drop in Covid cases and in the number of positive tests so far in January. Deaths are down sharply since December, when the county averaged nearly 10 Covid fatalities per day.

There is no mention that Macomb County alone has experienced more deaths (now 1,773) than the totals in each of 12 states.

Ever the showman, Hackel announces an awkward segue: “I’m going to leave my bagel here and go talk to Vicki (Rad Rowinski).” The county exec then appears before a different camera, featuring a different backdrop, to talk with Rowinski, director of the Planning and Economic Development Department, about a new program to assist struggling businesses.

 

You can watch the video on the county’s covid web page or on Hackel’s Facebook page.