LANSING, MI (WTVB) – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and top state officials are trying to squash rumors that she’s planning to order residents to shelter in place in their homes to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“There’s no plans to have a shelter-in-place order,” Whitmer said Friday morning on WWJ 950AM, Detroit. “There’s no talk of any of that in my office.”
Whitmer sent a letter to President Donald Trump seeking federal funding and “authorization for the full use and force of Michigan’s National Guard to be dedicated to COVID-19 response and support.” In the letter,
Whitmer called up fewer than 12 National Guard members Wednesday to assist in the distribution of medical supplies.
The governor’s request for National Guard funding was just a precautionary measure, should additional guardsmen need to be called up, Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said Thursday evening.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey took to Twitter Thursday evening, saying “rumors” of a state lockdown “are absolutely inaccurate.”
“During a crisis, false rumors can be dangerous,” Shirkey wrote. “Rumors that @GovWhitmer will soon shutdown additional businesses or issue a ‘shelter in place’ order are absolutely inaccurate.”
