Michigan House panel gives itself power to subpoena former health director detroitnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from detroitnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pushes vaccines, not restrictions in state s fight against COVID-19
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is doubling down on not issuing any new restrictions as COVID-19 cases continue to surge.
Posted at 6:00 AM, Apr 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-15 06:00:36-04
(WXYZ) â Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is doubling down on not issuing any new restrictions as COVID-19 cases continue to surge.
On Wednesday, the state reported more than 7,900 new COVID-19 cases and 33 new deaths, but current epidemic orders imposed by state health officials are set to expire on Monday night.
Whitmer is instead pushing for increased vaccinations and continued compliance with state protocols instead of issuing new orders.
Gov. Whitmer defends Michigan health director vacationing out of state amid COVID surge
Director Elizabeth Hertel traveled to Alabama without being full vaccinated
Tags:
The issue began last Friday when pictures appeared online of Whitmer’s Chief Operating Officer Tricia Foster on vacation in Florida. The state said she was fully vaccinated but the governor had just spoken of personal responsibility that day, even cautioning against travel to Florida a week prior.
Ad
On Wednesday, Whitmer was asked about Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel spending spring break in Alabama without being fully vaccinated.
“There have never been travel restrictions in Michigan, there just haven’t been. What we have done is to ask people to be smart to get vaccinated to mask up,” she said. “What directors do on their personal time is their business.”
The Democratic governor is offering an olive branch to Republicans who control the Legislature. They aren’t happy, though, that Whitmer made the peace offering through the media.
Michigan restaurants would be shut down under GOP bill that sought to tie COVID-19 restrictions to metrics
Updated 12:36 PM;
Today 12:36 PM
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks as she visits a vaccine clinic at the EMU Convocation Center on Monday, April 12, 2021.Jacob Hamilton | The Ann Arbor News
Facebook Share
YPSILANTI, MI - Republican lawmakers have long called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration to identify specific metrics used to determine COVID-19 restrictions on Michigan businesses, and last month, they passed a Senate bill that would set concrete case and hospitalization rates to trigger shutdowns.
Under that bill, dine-in restaurant services would now be shut down as the state continues to experience a surge in rates of coronavirus infection.