What to know about COVID-19 in Michigan ahead of Governor Whitmer’s briefing Tuesday afternoon

LANSING, Mich. – Tuesday afternoon Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer will hold a briefing to update the current state of COVID-19 in the state.

Click here to watch the briefing live at 2:30 p.m..

If you want to familiarize yourself with all things COVID-19 before the governor speaks, here’s what you need to know.

Update of the most recent cases

Monday afternoon, the state of Michigan has reported 10,428 new COVID-19 cases and 98 more deaths in the previous 48 hours – an average of 5,214 cases and 49 deaths per day.

That brought the state’s total to 360,449 cases and 9,134 deaths since the pandemic began in March.

After reporting at least 7,000 new cases daily on six occasions between Nov. 13 and Nov. 21, Michigan has seen a slight decrease in the number of cases, averaging 6,416 cases per day since.

The highest daily total to date came on November 20, when the state reported 9,779 new cases. There were 17,162 new cases reported during the two days of Thanksgiving and the following day (# 26-27).

Three week break

Michigan is 14 days after a three week “break” that closed indoor dining at restaurants, in-person classes at middle and high schools, and much more.

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

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

Indoor dining services will no longer be 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 secondary 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.

Last briefing

Whitmer last spoke on November 16 ask Michiganders to “double down to avoid a stay at home order. “

“I hope everyone makes smart choices to keep you, your loved ones, our frontline workers and our community safe,” Whitmer said. “Hopefully they double down so we can avoid a stay at home order.”

Dr Joneigh Khaldun called Michigan’s COVID-19 outlook “deadly and grim”, while Whitmer cited a model that predicted an increase in the death rate if safety protocols were not followed.

• What metrics are Michigan officials monitoring to decide if a 3 week break will be long enough?
• Why are meals inside Michigan restaurants closed for 3 weeks despite fewer outbreaks?

“A leading model shows that if we don’t take aggressive action right now, we could soon see 1,000 deaths per week here in Michigan,” Whitmer said. “I want you to think about this: 1,000 deaths per week, that’s what one of the models tells us.”

“If we don’t act now, there is no doubt that the next few months, the next few months, will be murderous and grim,” Khaldun said.

Andiamo owner rallies restaurants to reopen

Andiamo’s owner wrote a letter to Michigan Restaurants urging them to defy COVID-19 state health department shutdown orders and reopen.

Joe Vicari has called on fellow restaurateurs to join Andiamo in reopening on Dec. 9 if Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services extend the current three-week “break”.

“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. “

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.”

Click here to read the full letter.

Michigan football on hiatus

Michigan Football paused all team activities on Monday due to possible COVID-19 issues, announced the university.

“To be on the safe side, we are hosting virtually all of the team’s activities today,” sports department spokesman David Ablauf said.

The Wolverines have managed six of their eight regular-season games without any widespread outbreak of COVID-19. Just two days after welcoming Penn State to Michigan Stadium, the team announced that all activities were taking place virtually.

Michigan is set to host Maryland this weekend in the final game at the Big House. A trip to the state of Ohio is scheduled for the following week, followed by a final game against a team from the Big Ten West.

It’s unclear whether the team will have to miss any games or how long the shutdown will last.