Governor Whitmer Worried About Losing Emergency Powers

The Governor says that use of Emergency Powers is not unique, and worries losing them could lead to a risky spike in coronavirus levels in the state of Michigan. Back in March everything was locked down as the spread of the virus posed a threat to overwhelming hospitals and multiple deaths. Now that our infection rate has come down, she has opened much of the state. After being a major hotspot for the virus, Michigan has done better with the coronavirus than many other states.

AP News reports “Republican lawmakers are in court challenging the governor’s ability to continually extend the state of the emergency — the underpinning of her orders — without their approval. A group, Unlock Michigan, is nearly done collecting signatures for a veto-proof ballot initiative that would enable the GOP-controlled Legislature to repeal a 1945 law that gives Whitmer her power to act on her own.” A 1976 law, which requires legislative approval to lengthen an emergency, would remain intact.

Our states per-capita rate of new cases for the past two weeks ranks Michigan as 13th lowest among states, according to an AP analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Our seven-day positivity rate is the 11th lowest, only about 2.4% of people being tested are showing positive results.

Governor Whitmer credited our residents for doing what they needed to do here in Michigan where the coronavirus has caused about 7000 deaths.“But the one thing that keeps me up at night is the fact that all this sacrifice that we’ve made and the work that we’ve done could just evaporate if we drop our guard, if we stop masking up,” Whitmer told the Associated Press.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and other Republicans question the reasoning behind Whitmer’s orders and said no business, including movie theatres should be closed. Our Governor is supported by polling for her handling of the pandemic, says the emergency will not last forever. Vaccine and therapeutics are currently being developed to treat Covid-19. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) estimates a vaccine could start being distributed to healthcare workers and other high-risk people in January, or later this year, if one is approved. But experts say it is probably not going to be widely available before spring or summer.