Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says she hears the frustration that many residents are having in filing unemployment claims. In her Monday update, the governor said that the on-line and telephone claims system has been overwhelmed in the last two weeks. She says claims are coming in much faster than anytime in history.
Whitmer says that no one will be penalized for not being able to get through right away into the system, and she says the state UIA and DTMB are working hard to have more capacity.
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Whitmer is echoing the advice coming from the White House and is calling on anyone who has to leave their home for any reason during the coronavirus pandemic to wear a mask.
In her update today on the state’s fight against the virus, she held up a homemade Detroit Tigers mask someone had sent her as an example, and said N-95 and surgical masks need to be reserved for medical personnel and first responders. Whitmer says new data shows Michigan residents are doing an excellent job at staying home, citing a graphic published over the weekend by the New York Times showing the movement of people by county nationwide with Michigan and New York among the best at limiting movement in recent weeks.
She adds an extension of her “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order is likely to be issued by the end of this week. She did not say how long of an extension she will order. She has asked the Michigan Legislature for a 70-day extension of her emergency declaration, which Whitmer says would not necessarily extend the Stay at Home order that long.
Republican leaders have said publicly that 70 days is too long, and they plan to meet on Tuesday.
The state has 15,718 cases with 617 deaths as of Sunday afternoon, with new numbers set to be released Monday afternoon around 3 p.m.
The Michigan National Guard is sending approximately ten Airmen from the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base to the Forgotten Harvest Food Bank in Royal Oak. This is the fifth food distribution site with Michigan National Guard members helping out. They will start supporting the Royal Oak facility today, and are expected to remain until the end of the month.
Beaumont Health is calling on other hospitals in Michigan to release more information about their COVID-19 patients. CEO John Fox wants the state to require more transparency, saying it’s impossible to know how different parts of Michigan are being impacted. Beaumont said as of Sunday, it has one-thousand-74 patients at its hospitals who have COVID-19.
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