(WWJ) Many Michiganders will not be seeing the governor's face for awhile.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer once again appeared in public masked this week, telling reporters she'll be covering her face at indoor events based on updated guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and advice from Michigan’s chief doctor.
The CDC announced Tuesday that vaccinated people should go back to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the Delta variant is fueling a surge of infections — although those parts do not include Michigan at this time.
That recommendation, only for counties where new cases are greater than 50 per 100,000 people in the last week, is based on the Delta variant’s ability to spread among the vaccinated and unvaccinated, the CDC said.
During a visit to Detroit to announce $100 million grant for affordable housing, both Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist appeared in masks.
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While Whitmer said she has not plans to reinstate the statewide mask mandate anytime soon, the governor said wearing a mask indoors is still a good idea.
“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," the governor 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.”
Whitmer noted that not everyone can get vaccinated for various reasons. "Immunocompromised people, for example ... So wearing a mask is an act of care for others who can’t get vaccinated," Whitmer said.
This comes as people across the U.S. are buying masks again. Sales of masks rose 24% for the week ending Tuesday, compared to the prior week, reversing weekly declines since May, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index.
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While nowhere near peak levels, Michigan's daily COVID-19 case counts are once again on the rise.
The latest numbers from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services show an average of 441 confirmed cases per day, over the past four days. The number of cases has more than doubled in the past two weeks.
Michigan this week topped 910,000 total confirmed cases since the pandemic started last year. More than 872,000 of those infected are considered officially recovered.