The state's best bet, Walensky said, "is to really close things down." Walensky called on Michigan "to go back to where we were last spring, last summer and to shut things down, to flatten the curve, to decrease contact with one another" and to ramp up testing and contact tracing efforts. Cases in Michigan have dramatically risen in recent weeks, averaging 7,359 new cases per day over the last week and approaching its pandemic highs set around Thanksgiving, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Deaths are also on the rise. "Really what we need to do in those situations is shut things down," Walensky said.