DETROIT – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defended her approach to fighting the recent surge of COVID cases as Dr. Anthony Fauci called for more strict restrictions in Michigan.
Read: Coronavirus in Michigan: Here’s what to know April 18, 2021
The two appeared on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning as Michigan continues to see the worst case rates in the entire county.
Whitmer placed part of the blame on a Michigan Supreme Court decision that removed her Emergency Orders in October.
With cases continuing to rise, Whitmer stood by her decision to keep the state open while health officials are urging her to do otherwise.
“The best way when you’re in the middle of a real big outbreak and a big surge, is really to shut down things much more so,” Fauci said. “When you’re in the middle of a hotspot, the best thing to do is to try and contain it.”
Whitmer said the state is doing enough.
“We still have very strong measures to keep people safe,” Whitmer said. “We have mask mandates, we’ve got capacity restrictions, we’ve got work from home where we’re imploring people to take a two week pause.”
Multiple Metro Detroit hospitals are already complaining about being overrun with patients, according to Beaumont Hospital COO Carolyn Wilson on Sunday’s “Flashpoint.”
“What we’re seeing is a combination right now -- an increase, obviously of the number of COVID patients and a lot of our community people that have delayed care, that are also seeing non-COVID care,” Wilson said. “We’re pretty full.”
Whitmer did hint that she didn’t have the same power she had during the prior Stay-at-Home orders due to the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling in October.
“In the waning months, I have been sued by my legislature, I have lost in a Republican controlled Supreme Court and I don’t have all the exact same tools,” Whitmer said.
While Whitmer said she’s starting to see the signs of the pandemic slowing down, she has asked for more doses of the vaccine, which is something Fauci said can’t happen at this point in time.
“If you take vaccines from other places and move them around, you make that place vulnerable to what’s going on in Michigan,” Fauci said.