According to a press conference held by Governor Gretchen Whitmer Sunday, March 15th at 6pm, there are now 45 confirmed cases of Coronavirus/COVID-19 in the state of Michigan. Samples are continuing to be run at the state lab every day, and more positive cases are expected.
“During this time, I am seeing the best in people… This is not going to be easy, but we are going to get through it,” says Whitmer.
“We are looking at expanding our capacity, today we are able to run enough samples for about 115 people, so we do have a capacity challenge that we are working as quickly as we can to address,” says Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy Director for Health.
When asked if she will plan on closing restaurants and bars like some neighboring states anytime soon, Governor Whitmer replied, “we’re clearly watching and communicating with my colleagues across the country… I think it’s really important that we are moving quickly but also doing it with robust debates and making informed decisions… like everyone, I saw pictures of people cramming into facilities not observing the social distancing that we know is critical to public health.” Whitmer says they will continue to monitor the situation and any decisions on that front will be announced.
Governor Whitmer says it’s not time to panic, but it’s time to be thoughtful and give our grocers the ability to restock by staggering when you go to the grocery store.
On closing K-12 schools, Whitmer says, “I know people are worried… the fact of the matter is we’ve had a few people test positive for COVID-19 that were teaching or had some sort of a role in schools. This group of 12 that have come back positive today, we know there is a younger person in that group. I believe as evidence that closing the schools was the right thing to do.”
For those who have questions about COVID-19 or how they can get tested, call: 1-888-535-6136 between 8am and 5pm.