By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


Governor Gretchen Whitmer says social distancing is working and the sacrifices being made are not for nothing.

The Governor updated the public during another press conference held Friday afternoon. She announced that new testing sites are coming online and anyone experiencing symptoms is encouraged to find the site closest to them. In order to safely re-open the economy, Whitmer said we need to know how much COVID-19 is present in the state and people need to get tested. The Governor said the rate of infection remains high and the threat of a second spike that overloads hospitals is still very real if we don’t get this right. She said testing has to be expanded to understand the virus and reinforced that anyone with symptoms should seek out testing. Whitmer stated a coalition of Midwestern governors and Kentucky are leading a bi-partisan effort to re-engage the economy in the Great Lakes region and are working together to safely re-open those economies so people can get back to work and businesses can get back on their feet. Whitmer noted the economy won’t open up all at once but said everyone is working together to make sure they’re making data driven decisions and protecting people so they don’t see a second wave of CVOID-19.

Whitmer said some of the factors taken into account to safely re-engage sectors of the economy is the sustained control of the rate of new infections and hospitalizations, enhanced ability to test and trace for COVID-19, sufficient healthcare capacity to handle resurgence, and observing best practices for social distancing and mitigating spread of the virus. Whitmer said they’ll work with a fact based data-driven approach that protects families and workers from the spread of COVID-19. Whitmer said the decision to re-open will be based on facts, science and the best medical advice they can get. She noted the state has great diversity with types of businesses so various factors go into gauging risk. The Governor said it’s anticipated they’ll begin with low-risk sectors but may re-engage their strategy by region depending on data. She said any return to work will start with low-risk sectors and be phased in carefully to track the impact of lifting social distancing measures and what that means for the spread of COVID-19. Whitmer said some considerations will include whether a business is indoors or outdoors, proximity between employees, the number of employees, interaction with the public, and whether tools and machinery are shared. She says businesses will also need to make sure best practices are in place when people do go back to work.

The state’s Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Kaldun commented that fighting the disease will be a marathon – not a sprint. It was noted the state is still seeing more than 1,000 cases a day and 100 deaths a day. Kaldun said they’ll be revving up contact tracing within the next week. It was noted they continue to work with lab directors across the state, because some are still struggling with getting swabs and others don’t have all of the agents they need to actually do the tests.

Whitmer said she understands there is a lot of anxiety and people are worried about their businesses and paying bills but she will re-engage the economy when it’s safe. She acknowledged that people have been cooped up for weeks but asserted it’s a moment in time - not the rest of our lives. Whitmer said it’s tough but there is help and also new resources available to help address the rising stress and anxiety everyone is confronting. The Governor stressed they are saving lives and the last thing anyone wants is a second wave so they need to be to be smart and do it safely. Whitmer said they can start to re-engage when it’s safe but data shows social distancing measures are working and it’s the most important thing that everyone can do to save lives. The Governor said she’ll release more information next week but stressed that any re-engaging of the economy and re-opening of businesses will be done in phases.