Despite Michigan having the highest rate of new COVID-19 infections – per capita – in the country, new restrictions to limit the spread of the disease aren’t coming. However, the decision might be more political than scientific.
The first two waves of COVID-19 were met immediately with stringent restrictions, but not so much with this third one. Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the state health department are opting to dive headlong into the vaccination effort… instead of limiting activities or in-person schooling, measures that have worked before. Here she is on Meet the Press yesterday (Sunday).
“We are, I think at a very serious moment And that's precisely why we're going to keep following the science.”
But infectious disease expert Doctor Anthony Fauci on the same program, urged a lockdown for Michigan.
“The best way when you're in the middle of a real big outbreak and a big surge is really to shut down things much more so.”
Whitmer laid the blame for not locking things down on the state’s Republican-led legislature – which successfully sued to limit her authority to issue emergency orders. It’s clear the political will isn’t there for a full closure. Over the weekend Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote on Twitter that she’s received “enormous blowback” from prosecutors and law enforcement who’ve refused to enforce previous health orders. With no new restrictions coming, Whitmer says Michigan will have to trust people to exercise good judgement…even if so many before have not.
We're going to keep imploring people to do the right things. We're going to keep our mitigations up and keep moving vaccines as quickly as we possibly can.”