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(WWJ) Despite complaints about lock downs and challenges to her authority, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pointed out in a speech Friday that Michigan's average coronavirus infection rate for the last month is half that of Ohio, Indiana and other nearby states.
And as school gets underway in districts that have chosen in-person class, the governor also added that she's encouraging, but not mandating, that all students wear masks in class. Her executive order requiring masks in public spaces for everyone over the age of five does not apply in schools, reporters discovered through questioning the governor's office, though a separate mandate requires masks in school for kids in sixth grade and up.
Reporters asked if that applied even in the Upper Peninsula, which is in a lower phase of coronavirus infection.
"At this juncture, we're not anticipating an additional order," Whitmer said, adding, "We strongly encourage masks for everyone, though."
That plan wasn't well received by everyone, with one Twitter user responding, "She needs to a) make masks mandatory not a recommended practice and b) stop making local district leaders agonize and get stuck in the middle of a rock and a hard place. I’ve supported her through this pandemic but punting responsibility to local districts is a mis-step in my opinion."
Meanwhile, states across the country that did not take this seriously as Michigan did are seeing record numbers of infections and deaths, Whitmer said. Georgia, which was the first to reopen, is averaging five time more cases than Michigan has had in recent days.
"This virus will not go away just because we're tired of dealing with it," Whitmer said, adding that following safety protocols like social distancing and wearing a mask are the only ways to make it go away.
Detroit has a rate of 26 cases per million people per day, with a positive rate of 2.6%, while Wayne, Oakland and Monroe counties all have 40 cases per million and a positivity rate of more than 4%.
The highest number of cases currently is in Macomb County, with a rate of 80 cases per million and a positive test rate of 7.4%.
As the state continues to battle the virus, Whitmer announced Michigan is teaming up with Ford and FEMA to give out 4 million masks to those in need, including schools, the city of Detroit and COVID testing sites.