Capitol News

Since March 10, Michigan residents have been living under a state of emergency due to the novel coronavirus. With no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for this disease, citizens are responding to executive orders by the governor to protect communities and prevent further spread of the disease.

On March 10, Michigan realized its first two confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. On that same day, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency under the Emergency Management Act and the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act.

On March 16, Whitmer issued an additional executive order that temporarily closed all dine-in options for restaurants, theaters, bars, casinos and fitness centers.

On March 24, Whitmer issued a further “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order. According to Michigan.gov, the new executive order addresses the following issues: Non-critical in-person work is prohibited. People must stay home at their place of residence. All gatherings of any number of people not part of the same household are prohibited. People are asked to maintain social distancing measures, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All non-critical in-person businesses must close. There are new restrictions for businesses that employ critical infrastructure workers. All non-critical in-person government activities -- state, county and local -- are banned.

“In just 13 days, we’ve gone from zero to over 1,000 COVID-19 cases,” said Governor Whitmer. “This is an unprecedented crisis that requires all of us working together to protect our families and our communities. The most effective way we can slow down the virus is to stay home. I know this will be hard, but it will be temporary. If we all come together, get serious and do our part by staying home, we can stay safe and save lives.”

As of March 27, almost 4,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the state. The city of Detroit has the most cases with 919. Michigan is in the top five states affected by the virus, according to MLive.

With the Governor's executive orders delivered loud and clear, state residents are having to rely on their communities for safety and assurance. This is a time when government agencies and support systems are operating at minimal levels. According to Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun on Michigan.gov, the first thing citizens can do is abide by the executive orders and do their part to protect their communities.

State Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport) gave her support to the public on Michigan House Republicans.

"There is certainly more work to be done legislatively to bolster the state’s response to this pandemic," said Lightner. "I remain committed to taking aggressive action to keep our communities safe moving forward. We can and will get through this if we continue to work together and support one another."

The state is continuing to work on measures for protecting the elderly and those whose immune systems are compromised, make sure that food resource programs continue to help those in need and that public workers are able to easily apply for unemployment benefits. During unprecedented times, the greatest support comes from one another.

Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.