Whitmer To Michiganders: 'We Cannot Let Up For One Second'

MICHIGAN — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a news conference Tuesday continued to ask residents to wear masks and social distance amid the coronavirus pandemic, and reiterated a request to federal officials to mandate the use of face coverings.

Whitmer's plea to residents was joined by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, who said that over the past two weeks the state has seen a plateau in the number of new cases and a low number of deaths attributed to the virus.

"The are both very good signs, the rate of new cases, however, continues to vary by region," Khaldun said during the news conference.

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The Detroit, Grand Rapids and Saginaw regions all have a little over 40 cases per million people per day, Khaldun said. But what is promising, she added, is that the Grand Rapids region, which has been noted as a hot spot for the coronavirus in Michigan, has seen a steady decline in the rate of new cases over the past two weeks. The trend has allowed health officials to move the region out of the "High Risk" category.

Meanwhile, the Lansing and Kalamazoo areas have more than 30 cases per million people each day, but have also seen a decrease as of late.

Jackson was another city mentioned by Khaldun, who said the city had seen a slow upward trend in new cases over the past six weeks.

Northern Michigan regions such as Traverse City and the Upper Peninsula are seeing under 20 cases per million people each day, Khaldun said.

Khaldun said that despite positive regional trends, overall the state has seen the percentage of positive tests slowly creep upward.

"While we're not as high as some other states across the country that are seeing a significant surge, this is something that we definitely want to continue to monitor," she said.

Whitmer said residents' use of face coverings is a big reason for positive trends relating to the coronavirus, and called once again on President Donald Trump to issue a federal mandate requiring masks in public areas to help combat the spread of the virus.

Whitmer said Trump should mandate the wearing of face masks in a letter to the editor published last week in the New York Times.

Whitmer said in the article that Michigan has been hit hard by the virus, ranking as high as third in the nation in coronavirus deaths. While the state was able to flatten the curve of new cases since that time, Whitmer said the Trump administration should require masks to prevent another spike.

"When more Americans wear a mask in public, we can save lives and put ourselves in a better position to send our children back to school in the fall," she wrote.

During Tuesday's news conference, Whitmer said "the vast majority of Michiganders have done just that," referring to wearing masks. But she said it will need to continue to beat the virus.

"What we know, too, is that this virus is still very real," she warned. "It is still very present, and we cannot let up for one second, because while we've continued to keep the numbers of deaths in Michigan low over the past several weeks, our case numbers have continued to increase since June.

"We've got to all double down and do our part right now," Whitmer added. "Please wear your mask, maintain physical distancing and get tested."