LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) — Governor Gretchen Whitmer didn’t mince words in a public statement Monday, expressing gratitude to help from the White House, outlining the pain points ahead in the COVID-19 fight.
For starters, she and state lawmakers have agreed to set aside $150 million to further fund assistance in the fight against the virus, which ranges from converting Detroit’s TCF Center in Detroit to take up to 900 hospital beds, extending unemployment benefits to 39 weeks and boosting checks by as much as $600 for four months. Under the new federal CARES Act, people who don’t typically qualify for state benefits — the self-employed, independent contractors who receive 1099 forms, gig and low-wage workers.
And even as she talked, the coronavirus death rate rose and the number of people diagnosed increased. Just hours later, state officials announced 184 COVID-19 deaths, with 6,498 residents testing positive.
Among a flurry of executive orders Whitmer signed over the weekend and Monday:
- prohibits all non-essential veterinary procedures starting on March 31, 2020, and encourages veterinarians and veterinary technicians to practice telemedicine as much as possible.
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order Saturday requiring water reconnections to homes that have been disconnected due to nonpayment or damaged infrastructure and allocating $2 million in state grants to local utilities to cover associated costs.
- Allocated $2 million to restore water service for impoverished families.
- Temporarily restricted discretionary spending by state departments and agencies during the COVID-19 crisis.
- An order that she said attempted to strike a balance between people who had pre-pandemic prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, and those who want to use it as a last-resort drug to treat COVID-19.
State officials continue to appeal for residents to ‘stay home, stay safe’ as more research indicates the aggressive upper-respiratory virus spreads more quickly than expected.
Learn more at mich.gov.
