CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER
Governor Gretchen Whitmer is in the Upper Peninsula Tuesday.
She will meet with health officials in Houghton to try to understand why the coronavirus cases have gone up so quickly here in the U.P. She will also appear at a deployment ceremony with the Michigan National Guard unit in Calumet.
In an interview with the Radio Results Network’s Jack Hall Tuesday morning, the governor called the increase in cases “alarming” but did not announce new restrictions for the region, which remains in Phase Five of the MiSafeStart plan.
“We’ve re-engaged our economy, we’ve saved a lot of lives, and gotten back to business, but we want to keep it that way,” Whitmer told RRN News. “We don’t want to take steps backward, and that’s why getting our arms around it as we see it cropping up in parts of our state, reinforcing the need to mask up, and getting that flu shot, are all really important things we’ve got to do right now to keep this under control.”
There are many who believe that the goal has been achieved, and that Michigan, like Florida, should lift all restrictions. They believe that the governor keeps changing the goal, from “flattening the curve” to “preventing hospitals from being overrun” to a new goal of having a vaccine and eliminating positive tests altogether before lifting restrictions and “getting back to normal”.
Whitmer’s response?
“That’s a hard thing to answer,” Whitmer said “I know everyone wants a firm date or a firm metric. But we have to look at all of these factors. We’re making great strides. If we drop our guard now, though, we could see COVID-19 come roaring back, just like we’re seeing in Wisconsin. That’s what we’re trying to avoid here. I do believe that it’s going to be a matter of months. Flattening the curve was Step One. But it’s precarious. We drop our guard, we get like Wisconsin, and we get into trouble. It’s going to be a matter of months.”
The governor is huddling with the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department to talk about the reasons for the increase in cases in the region.
“We’ve identified that a number of the cases in the Upper Peninsula are from weddings,” Whitmer said. “Some are from schools that have resumed face-to-face instruction. Some are from (college) campuses. We know these places are where it’s likely that there will be spread. That’s why masking up, not congregating. Our health systems are great. But they’re not equipped to handle a major COVID outbreak.”
Most of the growth has been in young people, under the age of 29, who usually are much-less effected by the virus, and statistically, are not at risk of dying from the virus. How can she convince them to believe that the threat is serious?
“Well, we’re working on it,” Whitmer said. “I was just talking to someone who knows a young person who had COVID, brought it home, and the father passed away from it. The young person didn’t exhibit any symptoms, but it was fatal for their dad.The insidious part of this disease is that a lot of us are carrying it and we exhibit no symptoms.”
She has a message for college students who violate university policies about partying.
“Students who are found violating agreements like that, I think, need to be held accountable,” Whitmer said. “This is too important for us as a state to write off a certain age group and assume that they’re all going to have it and that it’s just a part of life.We are unwittingly exposing other people to it. Other people, they get it, and it could be fatal for them. That’s why, even though we’re making great progress toward vaccines, and therapeutics, it remains that the single best tool we have is masking up.”
As for masks, will she revisit a requirement that student-athletes wear them during competition? Michigan is the only state that requires this, and some students are struggling to breathe while competing with masks. Whitmer said no.
“If wearing a mask doesn’t work with their athletics this year, then maybe they shouldn’t be participating right now,” Whitmer said. “I hate to say that. I know no one wants to hear that. I don’t like saying it. But the fact of the matter is, due to the novel nature of this virus, we still don’t know if there will be life-long side effects for young people who get this virus.”
The governor also wished the guardsmen from the Calumet Armory their best as they depart.
“It’s always an honor for me as their commander-in-chief to show up and give them some words before they leave, and some support,” Whitmer said. “And know that their families are supported in their absence and I think that’s a component that is critical for them to be able to do their jobs on all of our behalves. We’re going to support their families while they’re gone.”
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