DETROIT – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blasted the Legislature for spending more time dealing with members who contract COVID and shutting down sessions than anything else.
“But right now, they’re not even around to act. They’re on hunting break through December. And so we’ve got to act urgently. This is literally the worst week we’ve had in the last nine months. And I’m the only one in town doing the doing the work that needs to be done,” said Whitmer.
That does not mean there have not been talks that include a recent conference call.
“I asked them to consider the mask mandate as the best tool that we have, the best weapon against our common enemy. Everyone on that call acknowledged it. And yet, the Republicans were unwilling to even codify what we know, to be the best tool,” added Whitmer.
Republican state representative Jason Sheppard says the governor decided long ago to go at it alone.
“It’s frustrating. Back in the spring we put a whole package together in regards to COVID response which she vetoed and did not accept,” said Sheppard.
Republicans aren’t sure about the governor’s new order
Sheppard asked, “We want to be driven by data. We want to know is shutting down in person restaurant dining in the entire state going to actually change the spread of COVID, does that actually occur?”
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 264,576 as of Monday, including 8,049 deaths, state officials report.
Monday’s update represents 12,763 new cases and 55 additional deaths over the last two days.
How to track Michigan COVID-19 data
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Local 4 and ClickOnDetroit has been tracking the latest data to help better understand the situation across the state.
Our COVID-19 Data section tracks many of the key data points health officials are watching closely every single day.
Track key COVID-19 data points in Michigan: