The Michigan Department of Transportation has finalized plans to borrow the first $800 million out of an eventual $3.5 billion in new road repair debt, according to a state press release.

The borrowing will be done by selling state bonds over the next few years, with an expectation that the debt will be paid off over 25 years.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the new borrowing will let the state rebuild major highways “without an increase at the gas pump,” meaning a gas tax increase.

The press release did not include how much this will cost in interest, but previous reports indicate taxpayers will pay $565 million on just the first $800 million.

There are 590 patients in Michigan hospitals with COVID-19  as of Sept. 14, with an average hospital bed occupancy rate of 70.8% statewide. That's according to a survey of Michigan hospitals.

On April 30, the state had 2,690 people hospitalized with the coronavirus.

A MiSafeMap that is maintained by the state of Michigan and the University of Michigan has not been updated in a month, as of 3 p.m. Sept. 14.

The website states, “Map colors reflect official risk levels which convey the risk of spread of the epidemic in a region.”

The regional information appears to be outdated, however, especially for the Saginaw region, which officials had designated as having a “high risk level” as of Aug. 14, but which no longer meets any of the website’s criteria for that level. The website’s last posted update was on Aug. 14.

That Aug. 14 update stated that the Saginaw region had been moved to the high-risk category due to a “sustained period” of increased case levels, exceeding a rate of 40 per million.

As of Sept. 9, the website lists the Saginaw region as having a low level of positive tests, and a medium-high risk level using the cases-per-million rate metric.

Yet, the region remains officially listed as “high risk” on the map.