The idea that Governor Whitmer doesn't know the state and the best way to address these increases in cases is not accurate. I am a strong proponent to the New Zealand Model and closing down human activity to limit the spread of the disease. Which is another issue for India. But, when it comes to Michigan, Governor Whitmer has a very difficult political environment to stop human interaction. The State legislature is hostile to any actions the Governor takes.
In the case of India, I would refer to the methods of China with a similar population of undereducated and impoverished. China used flying drones to announce to the people to stay indoors. I think the drones were armed and had the ability to approach individuals in disobedience to the order to remain indoors. I strongly believe this technique of flying drones to order people back inside is a prospect for India to control human interaction. That is not a method that will work in Michigan, the drones would be shot down.
April 12, 2021
By Melissa Nann Burke and Beth LeBlanc
Washington — The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (click here) contradicted the Whitmer administration Monday, saying the answer to Michigan's "acute situation" with COVID-19 is not to surge vaccines but to shut down the state and "flatten the curve."
"Really what we need to do in those situations is shut things down," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a Monday briefing.
"I think if we tried to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan, we will be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work — to actually have the impact."... But, in the case of the political tensions in Michigan, the CDC is correct, but, so is Governor Whitmer.
April 19, 2021
By Beth LaBlanc
Lansing — The Michigan Bureau of Elections (click here) has recommended the certification of a petition that would repeal a law underpinning many of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders issued early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Board of State Canvassers will consider the bureau’s recommendation at Thursday’s meeting even as a lawsuit seeks a halt to the board's consideration of Unlock Michigan’s petition.
"If the Board of Canvassers does its duty on Thursday, this can be in front of the Legislature as soon as next week," Unlock Michigan spokesman Fred Wszolek said Monday.
The opposition group Keep Michigan Safe said the staff report ignored "90% of our many procedural and substantive challenges."
"We’re disappointed, but we will make our case to the Board of Canvassers and the courts to stop this ill-conceived and irresponsible petition drive," group spokesman Mark Fisk said....
The petition doesn't care about the number of hospital beds open to care for the sick and dying, nor does it take into consideration the safety of children. The petition is strictly a political attempt to build support for Republicans. The economy has taken precedent with Republicans over the lives and safety of people.
The fact that this political movement is finding signatures is only going to embolden them to continue to defy the Governor. Every time Governor Whitmer places restrictions on the movement of people to limit the spread of the virus, there is a very heavy presence of people that oppose her actions.
So, on one hand, the Governor wants to protect people in the face of political opposition that has no interest in public health. What does she do? Close down areas of the state known to be "hot spots" or does she take the only other reasonable solution and escalate the vaccination rate. Her strategy is at least to protect the people while Republicans spin their ideology and promote an open economy where people die of the virus.
So, it isn't as though the CDC director is incorrect; quite the contrary. But, in the face of political opposition that ups their game every time the Governor seeks to close down areas of the state, there is political activism that negates those orders.
April 16, 2021
By Craig Mauger and Jennifer Chambers
Lansing — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration (click here) is expanding a requirement to children as young as 2 years old that residents wear masks during gatherings under a new epidemic order unveiled Friday.
The policy change comes amid surging COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates in Michigan. The state has led the nation in new cases per population for two weeks, and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan's chief medical executive, described the situation as "dire" on Thursday.
The new order maintains the 50% capacity limit on indoor dining at restaurants and a 15-person limit on indoor residential gatherings. Some public health experts had called on Whitmer to do more to restrict gatherings and shut down certain activities to combat the high case rates.
The mask requirement previously exempted children younger than the age of 5. Expanding the mask rule to children ages 2 to 4 also requires "a good faith effort to ensure that these children wear masks while in gatherings at childcare facilities or camps," according to the Whitmer administration.
April 14, 2021
By Craig Mauger
Lansing — Michigan's chief medical executive, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, (click here) described the state's COVID-19 situation as "very serious" Wednesday as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vehemently defended her approach to the third surge of infections.
During a press conference, Khaldun said she personally worked in a hospital emergency department over the weekend and it was "exhausting" as more and more patients with COVID-19 needed care. As of Wednesday, there were 3,998 adults hospitalized with the virus, the second highest total the state has reported. The highest total, 4,011, came a day earlier.
"It is really putting a strain on our staff and our resources and our bed space," Khaldun said. "All of which are spread way too thin. Patients are again lining our hallways like they were last spring. This situation is very serious."
The answer in Michigan at this point is to create more beds with Army Corp. Field Hospitals, but, then there is the issue of staffing those extra beds. When the people remain defiant in the face of death, the strategy has to be to find a solution that works best if not 100 percent. The political propaganda in Michigan is ridiculous and is part of the reason the virus is so successful in the state.
Another issue is that Whitmer is not a good example. It is a lot of nonsense. Governor Whitmer is allowed to love her father and see that he is doing well. Imagine if she called up Social Services and stated they had to check on her father, that would be a fire storm of controversy. So, the Governor is allowed to care about her father IN PERSON and see to his wellness. But, this is the kind of hideous political environment there is in Michigan.
The GOP's motto since Trump is, "Do the unthinkable and defend it."
April 20, 2021
By Craig Mauger
Lansing — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (click here) traveled out of state earlier this year to visit her father who is battling a chronic illness, spokesman Bobby Leddy said Monday.
The acknowledgment came after spring break trips made by two members of Whitmer's administration drew criticism amid surging COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in the state. Whitmer's trip took place more than four weeks ago, before Michigan began leading the nation in new cases per population, Leddy said.
Michigan Information & Research Service News first reported Whitmer's trip Monday and noted it was of a personal nature in Florida. Whitmer's father has a property in West Palm Beach, according to public records.
"The governor did not go on spring break, and she has not left the state in over a month," Leddy said. "In the past six months, she has left the state three times, once for the inauguration, once to assist her elderly father who is battling a chronic illness, and once to visit with Michigan's National Guard troops.
