(WWJ) The number of cases of the coronavirus in Michigan is trending in the wrong direction.
Speaking live on WWJ this morning, Governor Gretchen Whitmer called the latest numbers “concerning.”
“What we are watching is the number of COVID cases going up. We have seen the number go up because of testing, but we’re also seeing the percent of positive tests going up as well,” Whitmer said.
She said Phase 5—the reopening of gyms, theaters and casinos—may still be a while away. It all depends on Michigan's ability to keep the disease in check.
That comes down to contact tracing and people being responsible, Whitmer said.
“Context matters. If we have 100 cases in Wayne County, but they all stemmed from one event...then we can trace and isolate. But if those 100 cases are randomized and there’s no link, and tracing is not as easy to do, that’s a lot more concerning.”
Whitmer urged all Michiganders to pick up the phone when it rings or listen to their messages regularly, and quickly respond to calls from contact tracers.
She said the call may not be obvious it is from a contact tracer based on the caller ID.
“We have a very decentralized public health system here in Michigan,” Whitmer said.
The call may come from the health department connected to the county the recipient lives in or the State Health Department.
“Or nothing may show up (on the Caller ID),” Whitmer said.
She told us she and her team of epidemiology experts look at a variety of factors when making decisions including: the percent of positive tests, the trend in cases, where the cases are coming from, and hospital capacity.
The percent of positive tests is about 3%.
Deaths and hospitalizations remain relatively low for now.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports just over 340 people are hospitalized with a confirmed case of the virus statewide, with hospitals overall at 65% capacity including all patients regardless of COVID status.
But it is too soon to draw conclusions about the consequences of this latest uptick, Whitmer said.
“We’re also seeing hospitalizations, but it is a lagging indicator. You don’t go right to the hospital the minute you’re diagnosed. Often times they try to quarantine at home, then they end up hospitalized a week, two weeks, three weeks later… Death rates are also a lagging indicator,” Whitmer said.
In addition, she said we may not see the effect of the Fourth of July celebrations until the end of the month.
Masks are important to slow the spread, according to Whitmer and multiple public health experts.
Michigan has an order in place that people must wear a mask in enclosed public spaces like stores.
“That is currently the law in Michigan,” she told WWJ.
Governor Whitmer said the state has to do a better job in making sure people understand the mask law and “empowering employers and workplaces” to enforce it.
Health experts and government leaders across Michigan and the country are working on “flipping the cultural norm into mask wearing and taking the politics out of it,” Whitmer said.
“Just recognize, if you want to be safe, if you want to keep this economy engaged, we got to mask up,” she said.
Whitmer said she is aware of consequences of extended shutdowns including the mental health toll.
“What we know, unchecked spread has even more devastating consequences on our mental health and our economy…” she said.
She'll be extending the State of Emergency order, which is set to expire next week, to allow her to protect frontline workers and others. 49 states are also following suit.
“You should expect that will be extended, and perhaps again, until we get a better handle on this virus nationally,” she said.