LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday extended the state’s emergency status until Oct. 27, 2020 amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Gov. Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-186 to again extend Michigan’s state of emergency as the pandemic continues to impact the state and its residents.
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“We have saved thousands of lives in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among our most vulnerable populations – people of color, seniors, and people with disabilities. Because we took swift action, the health of our families and our economy are faring better than our neighbors in other states,” Whitmer said in a press release. “This emergency will end, and it is a matter of months. But we are not out of the woods yet. Right now, the federal government and all 50 states have been under some form of state of emergency. We must continue doing our part to fight this virus on behalf of our families, frontline workers, and our small businesses.”
The governor initiated a state of emergency in March when the pandemic struck, and has since continued to extend it -- most recently on Sept. 3 when she extended it through Oct. 1.
Whitmer’s extension of the emergency status on Tuesday comes as a group called Unlock Michigan is attempting to repeal the 1945 Emergency Powers of the Governor Act -- which would limit the governor’s emergency powers.
“The health, economic, and social harms of the COVID-19 pandemic remain widespread and severe, and they continue to constitute a statewide emergency and disaster. Though local health departments have some limited capacity to respond to cases as they arise within their jurisdictions, state emergency operations are necessary to bring this pandemic under control in Michigan and to build and maintain infrastructure to stop the spread of COVID-19, trace infections, and to quickly direct additional resources to hot-spots as they emerge,” Tuesday’s press release reads.
Michigan’s struggle with COVID-19 has improved since the early months of the pandemic, but cases continue to rise throughout the state. As of Tuesday, Michigan is reporting 123,633 COVID-19 cases and 6,751 deaths overall.
Tuesday’s update represents 898 new cases and 20 additional deaths, including four from a Vital Records review. On Monday, the state totals were 122,735 cases and 6,731 deaths.
New COVID-19 cases and deaths remain plateaued in Michigan. Testing has remained steady, with an average of more than 30,000 per day, with the positive rate just above 3 percent over the last 10 days. The state reported its highest one-day testing total with more than 41,000 diagnostic tests on Aug. 21.
Officials said Tuesday that despite gradually reopening the state’s economy, Michigan’s seven-day COVID-19 case positivity rate has remained between 3% and 3.7% since July.
Michigan has reported 95,051 recoveries overall. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 20,900 as of Monday. Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 761 on Monday. The state’s fatality rate is 5.5 percent.
You can view the entire Executive Order 2020-186 below:
More: Coronavirus News, COVID-19 Data