Whitmer: ‘Mask Up’ To Avoid Having More Restrictions

CLICK TO HEAR THE GOVERNOR ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT RESTRICTIONS, MASKS

Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave a stern warning at a Thursday press conference: wear a mask when you are at an indoor public place, wash your hands, social distance, and don’t congregate in large groups. Otherwise, she said she will “turn the dial” and impose more restrictions as the state continues to battle the coronavirus.

Whitmer said that you must wear a mask whenever you enter a store, or any other indoor public place.

“It is the law of the land,” she said. “I don’t know why people don’t know that or haven’t figured that out yet.”

The governor did not announce any new restrictions at Thursday’s press conference, which mostly focused on the racial disparity that has seen more people of color infected with COVID-19 than white people.

“I am not announcing a step back today, and I’m certainly not announcing a step forward today,” Whitmer said.

The Upper Peninsula and northern lower peninsula remain in Phase Five of the Mi Safe Start plan, while lower Michigan is in Phase Four.

Whitmer says the trend of new cases in Michigan is going upward, and that’s not sustainable. But she noted that Michigan’s caseload is nowhere near as bad as in some southern states, which are seeing tens of thousands of new cases.

“We know that what’s going on in other parts of this country is incredibly troubling,” Whitmer said. “In Florida, when they report 11,000 cases a day, and at our height, we were at 1,800, if we got anywhere close to where Florida is, it would be devastating to our economy and to our health care system.”

State health officials reported on Wednesday 610 new cases, which was the most since May in a single day. However, Dr. Joneigh Kahldun, the state’s chief medical executive, said that the high number of cases was partly due to delays in reporting from the holiday weekend, so the numbers are skewed.

Kahldun also said Thursday that the while the Upper Peninsula has seen an uptick in cases, the region is still at less than 20 cases per million people, which is a benchmark that’s used to determine how well a region is faring in the battle against the virus.

Whitmer called on businesses that have not been enforcing mask wearing to start doing so. She said that wearing a mask is the biggest thing you can do to stop the spread of the virus, noting that there is no cure, treatment, or vaccine available.

“If you want kids to go back to school in eight weeks, wear a mask,” Whitmer said. “It’s just a show of respect for others. Mask up.”