(WWJ/AP) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she hopes to begin reopening parts of Michigan's economy on May 1.
Whitmer made her comments to business leaders during a tele-town hall with the Detroit Regional Chamber Friday, saying she plans to talk more about the issue next week.
Whitmer did not specifically identify which businesses may be allowed to open but said relaxing stay-home restrictions will come in phases.
Live on Good Morning America earlier Friday morning,Whitmer said she is hoping to relax some restrictions on her stay home, stay safe order on May 1, though she didn't elaborate beyond that.
"Here in Michigan we've had to be really aggressive. We've got the third highest death rate in the country. We're not the third highest state (in population). We have a unique crisis that is playing out here and we need unique solutions," she told George Stephanopoulos, adding that Midwest governors are working together on a cohesive plan.
"I do hope to have some relaxing on May 1. It's two weeks away and the information, and the data, and out ability to test is changing so rapidly that it's hard to tell you where we'll be in a week, more or less two," the governor said.
She added her team is looking very carefully at the data and striving to avoid a second wave of infection, "which would be devastating."
This comes as she faces fire from residents, who gathered by the thousands earlier this week in Lansing for a demonstration against the order, and as Republican lawmakers introduce measures to limit her powers because, they argue, the order meant to keep people at home during a pandemic is not rational.
The governor also addressed critics, saying it's OK to take out their frustration on her, but she has to care for the health of the public at large. She added that she knows people are hurting, but it's "better to be six feet apart right now than six feet under."
She also talked about the latest coronavirus guidelines from President Donald Trump's White House, which were released Thursday. They call for a three-phase reopening of pubic life based on hospital occupancy and the number of coronavirus cases, and other similar factors. Phase One of the plan says that "all vulnerable individuals" should continue to shelter in place, and it encourages everyone to maintain various social distancing practices when in public while allowing large venues like restaurants, movie theaters, sporting venues and places of worship would be allowed to reopen if they "operate under strict physical distancing protocols."
Phase Two, which begins in areas with "no evidence of a rebound" in cases, loosens the restrictions, and phase three is the reopening of all public life with social distancing and under the advice that even low-risk individuals "consider minimizing time spent in crowded environments."
On that plan, Whitmer said the most essential part is getting readily available coronavirus testing, something that still inexplicably lags. "We should be able to administer a test to anyone who has symptoms," Whitmer said.
"That's one of the shortcomings of the guidelines," Whitmer said on the lack of testing protocols in the plan for the resumption of public life.
Whitmer's stay-at-home order, among the nation's toughest in a state hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled to expire on April 30.
