LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has started to loosen the reigns of her coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown ever so slightly, as certain businesses begin to reopen.
UPDATE -- May 1, 2020: Michigan coronavirus cases up to 42,356; Death toll now at 3,866
Whitmer announced late Friday afternoon that construction and real estate would be among the sectors reopening Thursday.
She also blasted Republicans, protesters and President Donald Trump.
Friday began with Trump tweeting that Whitmer should cut a deal with the legislature and get Michigan open again. He also backed the protesters who gathered Thursday in Lansing.
Whitmer shot back by tweeting a Michelle Obama meme that said, “When they go low, we go high.”
“What happened yesterday was incredibly reckless and political theater,” Whitmer said during her press conference.
In the meantime, Whitmer is looking to get more people back to work.
“Construction and real estate are back to work,” Whitmer said. “(We’re) starting to turn the dial.”
She’s also allowing manufacturers to start building the equipment businesses will need to reopen, such as partitions and furniture for social distancing.
Whitmer also spoke about non-emergency medical procedures, saying she is using solid medical advice and data to make her decisions.
Republican Rep. Shane Hernandez said he’s frustrated with what he views as the governor saying, “Trust me.”
“It’s almost like a shoot-from-the-hip method,” Hernandez said. “We open a couple of businesses and a day later we start talking about the next one. Well, why wasn’t that a conversation the day before? What happened the day before? What was the data that drove that?”