DETROIT – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, updating residents on the state’s ongoing response to COVID-19.
Michigan reported 999 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the second straight day showing an increase after several days of slowing growth. The death toll is now at 2,813.
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Despite the increase, Michigan’s chief health officer Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said the rate of growth is continuing to slow, the rate of critical illness is dropping, and testing is increasing.
Gov. Whitmer said the state is increasing testing capacity, with new sites opening across the area this week.
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“We want more people to get tested,” Whitmer said, encouraging residents to find a local site if they need to get tested for COVID-19. “Testing is the only way we will know where the virus is, so we can properly deploy resources.”
Michigan expanded the criteria for testing to anyone experiencing mild symptoms, or for any essential worker.
Michigan Gov. Whitmer said there has been a 15 percent reductions in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last 10 days.
Stay-home order
Michigan’s current stay-home order expires on May 1.
Gov. Whitmer said it’s likely the state will need a short-term extension of the stay-home order, but said she’s working on plans to reopen in phases, and will offer details as soon as Friday. She didn’t offer a timeframe or extension length.
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“A second wave would be devastating to our state,” Whitmer said. “When I say I’m hoping to loosen restrictions, I’m saying I will only loosen them if the facts and data say it’s safe to do so.”
“The data I have seen in the last week lead me to believe it’s time to re-evaluate the stay-home order,” Whitmer added.
Gov. Whitmer said business and health leaders are working with the state on plans to reopen business slowly and in “waves.”
“Some version of the stay-home order will be in effect for a while,” Gov. Whitmer said, adding that some vulnerable populations will still be asked to remain home even after businesses are reopened.
“I’m as eager as anyone to re-engage our economy, but we have to be really smart about how we go about it,” Gov. Whitmer said.
Several other states have already extended stay-home measures into May, including Connecticut (May 20), Delaware (May 15), California, New York (May 15), Vermont (May 15), Virginia (June 10) and Wisconsin (May 26).
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Michigan COVID-19 case tracking
Michigan reported 999 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the second straight day showing an increase after several days of slowing growth.
Despite the increase, Michigan’s chief health officer Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said the rate of growth is continuing to slow, and the rate of critical illness is dropping, and testing is increasing.
Dr. Khaldun also urged residents who are avoiding medical care for serious illness, like cancer treatment, to reach out for medical care.
“Life is not going to go back to normal for a while,” Dr. Khaldun said. “But we must stay the course. We can beat this virus.”
Michigan started reporting recoveries last week, with 3,237 total reported in the last 30 days. The state also released new hospital data on COVID-19 patients and medical supplies.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 75,000 have recovered in the U.S., with more than 826,000 cases reported across the country.
Worldwide, more than 2.5 million people have been confirmed infected and over 179,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.