Michigan will have to reverse its reopening if coronavirus cases continue to rise, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told CNN’s "New Day" on Tuesday.
"We're going to continue to monitor the numbers," Whitmer said. "If they keep moving up, we're going to dial back if we have to. And it's the last thing any of us wants."
She added that "I took a lot of heat. When we brought that curve down, we saved thousands of lives. I'm prepared to take heat if that's what it's going to take to keep people safe."
In fact, some actions have already been taken. Whitmer said "we have a phased-in reengagement of our economy and I had hoped to take the rest of the state to phase five, but we dialed it back right before Fourth of July because we see these [coronavirus] numbers increasing."
Whitmer did not detail how much of an increase would prompt her to enact new restrictions. In the spring, she ordered the nation's toughest shutdown, according to The Detroit News. On June 1, Whitmer lifted the stay-at-home order as cases fell after peaking in April.
A decision to restrict businesses further is particularly sensitive because Michigan had the nation's third highest unemployment rate at 21.2% in May, well above the national 13.3% average.
Whitmer also pressed for a national mask-up campaign, telling "New Day" that "if everyone endorsed this, it's the simple, cost-effective thing that we could do to really mitigate spread. But the symbols that come from the very top matter and it changes behavior. If we can take the politics out of mask-wearing we can save a lot of lives. And in doing so, save the ... economic pain that we are feeling across this country."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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