Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Michigan ahead of Whitmer’s briefing on Thursday, December 3

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer will provide another update on the state’s handling of COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon – just two days after her last briefing.

Whitmer will be joined by Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, medical director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist.

You can watch the briefing live at ClickOnDetroit – click here.

Three week break

Michigan is currently in the last third of a three-week “break” that closed indoor dining at restaurants, in-person classes at middle and high schools, and much more.

MORE: Here are 14 changes in effect under Michigan’s new COVID-19 restrictions

Under the restrictions – which went into effect Nov. 18 and are currently scheduled until Tuesday (Dec. 8) – all Michigan residents are required to work from home, unless their work must be done in person.

Dining services are no longer allowed in bars or restaurants. Casinos, cinemas, stadiums and arenas must remain closed.

Bowling alleys, ice rinks, bingo halls, arcades and indoor water parks must also be closed.

All high school and college courses must be taught remotely.

Organized sports are closed, excluding professional sports and a number of NCAA sports. Indoor group fitness classes are no longer permitted.

Wednesday (December 2), Michigan had reported 373,197 cases of COVID-19 and 9,405 deaths.

Extension imminent?

The first question asked of Whitmer during Tuesday’s briefing: Will the three-week break be extended beyond December 8?

“At this point, it’s really too early to say precisely where we’ll be in a few days, let alone next week,” Whitmer said. “But I think it’s important for people to know: we haven’t predetermined anything. It will depend on where we see the numbers. “

Whitmer said she worked with Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and other health experts to review options.

RELATED: Governor Urges Michigan Residents to Support Local Businesses During Holiday Shopping Season

“As we continue to monitor the numbers, we will also continue to focus our work on life safety,” Whitmer said. “The epidemic order was aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 by limiting interactions indoors where people are without masks, where many households are present.”

She said if everyone does their part and the numbers go down, the state will be in a stronger position.

“I predict that early next week we’ll have a much better idea of ​​what this hiatus has meant, if people have taken it seriously and done their part,” Whitmer said. “This will inform any decision to come.”

The numbers are slowly moving in the right direction

Two of the most common measurements of the spread of COVID-19 in Michigan show the state is slowly starting to move in the right direction again, according to Khaldun.

She said the case rate and test positivity rate were improving slightly.

“Overall, our case rate is now 608 cases per million people, and it’s been going down since last week,” Khaldun said.

All eight geographic regions of the state have seen a drop in cases over the past seven to 15 days, according to Khaldun.

But the numbers are still not where officials want them to be. Khaldun said the case rates were over 500 cases per million people in every region of Michigan except the Traverse City area.

Testing positivity is also down over the past week, from 14% on November 16 to 13% as of December.

“But it’s still obviously a lot higher than we would like,” Khaldun said. “We’re cautiously optimistic, based on what we’re seeing, (that) more people will start doing the right things around the beginning of November.”

Click here to read the full story.

Wednesday afternoon, Michigan reported 6,955 new cases of COVID-19 and 81 additional deaths, bringing the state total to 373,197 cases and 9,405 deaths.

Whitmer vs. restaurateurs

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the most recent decision was the elimination of restaurant catering. Many residents believe that restaurants are not a major vector of COVID-19, but Whitmer disagrees.

“I challenge you to think of even a restaurant that is 10% full and what that means in terms of the number of households represented there, and inherently unmasked, because people eat,” Whitmer said. “It’s just, unfortunately, all the different ingredients for a higher risk situation.”

MORE: Whitmer says indoor meals at restaurants contain ‘all the different ingredients’ for COVID-19 risk

Whitmer said this was why the MDHHS order targeted places where people from different households were together.

the Andiamo owners called on restaurants to unite against restrictions if this three-week period is extended beyond December 8.

“We need to unite and fight against this closure,” Vicari wrote. “Our industry cannot survive another shutdown in the long term. We are stronger if we stand united and use our force to respond. “

LILY: Andiamo owner writes letter urging Michigan restaurants to defy closure orders and reopen

In the letter, Vicari cites a statistic from the Michigan Lodging and Restaurant Association which says that only about 4% of COVID-19 cases in the state can be attributed to restaurants. Michigan health officials said it was extremely difficult to contact outbreaks in restaurants due to the short amount of time a customer can spend inside.

“Yet she has decided to close restaurants again,” the letter said. “Malls are full of vacation shops, hair salons and gyms may remain open, but our restaurants are closed.”

Whitmer answered a question about restaurateurs planning to defy state order and reopen.

“I want these restaurants to be successful,” she says. “I want to do everything in my power to help them get through these difficult times. That is why I called on our legislature to pass this $ 100 million plan. This is why I have asked our federal government to take action, but since it is not, I hope our legislature will work with me on this to relieve these restaurants.

Click here to read Whitmer’s full message to these restaurateurs.

Michigan Football Shuts Down

Michigan Football at canceled this weekend’s game against Maryland due to COVID-19 issues in the Wolverine program.

Michigan interrupted all team activities Monday and has since held them virtually. Training is now paused until at least Monday.

Saturday’s game against Maryland will not be postponed, the U of M announced. It was the Wolverines’ last home game of the season.

“The decision of our medical professionals to stop training and cancel this Saturday’s game against Maryland was made with the health, safety and well-being of the student-athletes, coaches and staff. as our top priority, ”said sports director Warde Manuel. “We have seen an increase in the number of student-athletes unavailable to compete due to positive tests and associated contact tracing due to our most recent antigen and PCR test results.”

COVID-19 vaccine schedule

Khaldun The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines spoke at Tuesday’s briefing, with the two companies having submitted requests to the Food and Drug Administration for permission to use their vaccines in the fight against COVID-19.

“We are actively working on distribution plans when these vaccines become available,” Khaldun said.

When Michigan receives the vaccine for the first time, it will be in very limited quantities, she said.

“Our first priority would be to keep our health care systems operational and to protect those who are most vulnerable,” Khaldun said. “Right now, that means we are prioritizing immunization of frontline healthcare workers.

“As the vaccine becomes more available, hopefully by January, we hope to quickly distribute vaccines to people working in care facilities and to residents of qualified nursing facilities. But it all depends on how quickly an additional vaccine becomes available from the manufacturer. “

According to her, according to the CDC’s recommendations, the state will extend to other types of critical workers, such as educators.

Then, when enough doses are available, they will go to the general public.

“We hope to be able to make the vaccine available to the general public by the end of the spring,” Khaldun said.

Click here to read the full story.

Unemployment benefit

Whitmer wants the state legislature to pass a permanent extension of unemployment benefits as residents continue to face the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I also urged the Legislature to pass a permanent extension of unemployment benefits,” Whitmer said Tuesday. “In the wake of the latest recession, the Legislature reduced the economic lifeline for workers from 26 to 20 weeks and let inflation reduce the maximum weekly benefit by $ 362.

In the fall, Michigan passed a law that extended Michigan’s COVID-19 unemployment benefits until the end of 2020. Whitmer wants another extension, saying House Democrats have already drafted bills to do so.

“Just yesterday, they called on fellow Republican to join with them in protecting the unemployed Michigand,” Whitmer said. “If we don’t take this bipartisan action now, thousands of Michiganders who are unemployed could lose their benefits right after the holidays.”

You can watch Whitmer’s full briefing starting Tuesday (December 1) below.