By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


As the holiday weekend approaches, Livingston County residents and others across the state are being reminded that COVID-19 is still very present.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Governor Gretchen Whitmer discussed recent spikes in cases of COVID-19 and ways to prevent the spread of the virus. The Governor stressed the need to take the politics out of mask wearing and said that after three months of hard work and real sacrifice to bend the curve and protect families, they’ve seen preventable spread in areas across the state.

Whitmer noted the Lansing region is "heating up" after a major outbreak linked to an East Lansing bar frequented by MSU students. That outbreak is now connected to more than 100 cases and prompted the Ingham County Health Department to impose county-specific restrictions that limit restaurant occupancy to 75 people. Livingston County legislators, including State Senator Lana Theis and State Representatives Ann Bollin and Hank Vaupel, have been advocating to have Livingston County included in the region that contains Lansing, with the belief that it will move into reopening faster than the Detroit region to which it is currently included. Requests for comment on the tightening of restrictions in the Lansing region have so far gone unreturned by all three.

Meanwhile, Whitmer hopes that as the weather improves and summer holidays approach – Michiganders will choose to celebrate safely with regard for their neighbors and families. Whitmer suggested people celebrate with close, small groups of family, friends or neighbors and avoid things such as crowded sandbars if out on a boat.

Whitmer had said she hoped to be able to announce on Tuesday that south and central Michigan could join northern Michigan in Phase 5 of her six-phase reopening plan ahead of the July 4 holiday. However, she said that wasn’t going to happen because of the rise in case numbers. The seven-day average of daily new cases in Michigan rose to 275 at the end of last week, an increase of nearly 125 since June 15th.

She said the rates of positive tests and hospitalizations will factor into any decision on whether to begin instituting new restrictions in various regions.