LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Governor Gretchen Whitmer provided an update on the state’s COVID-19 response Thursday morning. She was joined by Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, and Elizabeth Hertel from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
She highlighted the latest numbers on the vaccine rollout as well as a path out of the pandemic. Whitmer says that the state would likely hit 7,000,000 vaccinations by the weekend, reporting 1 in 2 Michigan residents have had their first shots already. She said, “these are hopeful numbers”.
She said as far as case numbers of COVID-19, numbers are headed in the right direction, and attributed it to a recommended two-week pause in various activities that she had announced previously.
In what Whitmer calls a “Vacc to Normal Challenge”, which is a four-phase plan, using data for Michigan residents 16 years or older who’ve received their first dose to guide future steps required to get the state back to normal:
55% of Michiganders (4,453,304 residents), plus two weeks:
Allows in-person work for all sectors of business.
60% of Michiganders (4,858,150 residents), plus two weeks:
Increases indoor capacity at sports stadiums to 25%.
Increases indoor capacity at conference centers/banquet halls/funeral homes to 25%.
Increases capacity at exercise facilities and gyms to 50%.
Lifts the curfew on restaurants and bars.
65% of Michiganders (5,262,996 residents), plus two weeks:
Lifts all indoor % capacity limits, requiring only social distancing between parties.
Further relaxes limits on residential social gatherings
70% of Michiganders (5,667,842 residents), plus two weeks:
Lifts the Gatherings and Face Masks Order such that MDHHS will no longer employ broad mitigation measures unless unanticipated circumstances arise, such as the spread of vaccine-resistant variants.
She also took time in the press conference to throw support behind President Biden’s three proposals; the American Rescue Plan, the American Jobs Plan, and the American Families Plan. Biden spoke on these issues and laid out the multi-trillion-dollar efforts to Congress and the nation in an address Wednesday evening.
Whitmer was scheduled to get her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Thursday afternoon in Grand Rapids. She got her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on April 6 at Ford Field in Detroit.
You can watch the entire press conference below
