DETROIT (WWJ/AP) Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she does not anticipate a return to the mask mandate in Michigan in the foreseeable future—despite the CDC’s newest recommendation that even fully vaccinated individuals should return to wearing masks indoors in some areas of the nation.
“We know that viruses mutate, that’s what viruses do, and so long as COVID is spreading from person to person whether it’s in Alabama or halfway around the world, it could continue to mutate and ultimately those of us who are even vaccinated may see a variation we are vulnerable to," she said. "So, for all of us, wearing masks when we are inside and close together is going to be the smart thing to do so long as COVID is around, and COVID is going to be around for a long time.”
During a visit to Detroit to announce a $100 million grant for affordable housing in the city, Whitmer urged people to remain cautious.
“Right now, everyone can avail themselves of a vaccine,” she said. “But not everyone can get vaccinated for a variety of reasons. Immunocompromised people, for example. So wearing a mask is an act of care for others who can’t get vaccinated.”
She, and Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, both wore masks during her announcement.
The CDC announced Tuesday that vaccinated individuals should go back to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the Delta variant is fueling a surge of infections. They also recommended that students, teachers, staff and visitors at schools nationwide mask up, regardless of vaccination status. This recommendation is based on the Delta variant’s ability to spread among the vaccinated and unvaccinated, they said.
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The guidance on masks applies in indoor public places in counties where new cases are greater than 50 per 100,000 people in the last week, represented by red and orange zones on the graph below. Right now, that represents 60% of U.S. counties, particularly in the South. No county in Southeastern Michigan meets that criteria as of now.
To search your county on CDC Data Tracker, click here
Here in Michigan, 1,762 cases were reported over a four-day period (Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday), averaging about 440 cases per day. Four new deaths, and fifteen from a review of vital records, were reported in that time period.
Nearly 400 people are hospitalized in Michigan with a confirmed case of the virus as of Monday (13 children), with just over 90 adults in the Intensive Care Unit.
Nearly 40 people are on ventilators.
A little less than half of the hospitalizations statewide are in the metro Detroit (about 180)—in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.
Michigan has surpassed 900,000 cases since the pandemic started in March of 2020. Health officials have attributed COVID-19 as a cause or contributing factor in the death of nearly 20,000 residents. More than 872,160 Michiganders are considered 'recovered' from COVID-19, after they survived 30 days since they tested positive.
The nation is averaging 570,000 cases per day with 24,000 hospitalizations as the Delta variant spreads.
CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said the viral loads in the noses and throats of vaccinated people carrying the Delta variant are “indistinguishable” from those who are unvaccinated—making it likely that the vaccinated can transmit the virus.
“It’s concerning enough where we feel we have to act,” she said.
Walensky added, with previous iterations of the virus, the viral loads were low in the vaccinated population. Therefore, spread was unlikely.
U.C. Davis Health reports that about 97% of people who are hospitalized nationwide with the virus have not received the vaccine.
Most people with the Delta variant experience either no or mild symptoms if they have received the vaccine, according to health experts. Those symptoms include loss of taste or smell, cough, fever or headache.
More than 80% of cases in samples extrapolated by the CDC from around the country are currently the Delta variant. However, many individuals do not know which variant they have just by receiving the commonly available COVID-19 test.