Family and friends. This is a unique and challenging time. I hope that you are finding other ways to reach out to loved ones during during this time as we celebrate, as we cope and as we navigate these unsettling times. Since monday, we announced that the state of michigan has selected the suburban selection show place in novi with collaboration with ascension help as the sight of the second healthcare facility to extend medical capacity during the states response to covid19. After conversion of the suburban collection show place will provide bed space to accommodate up to 1,000 covid19 cases. And as we announced that the henry ford healthcare system, bowman health and the Detroit Medical Center will serve as partners providing critical support and Staffing Resources at t. C. F. Regional care center scheduled to accept its first 25 covid19 patients this friday. The United States army corps of engineers has built this hospital from scratch in a matter of days with the Michigan National guard. And we brought competing Healthcare Systems together joining forces to help get this up and running. It is truly a remarkable thing that has been accomplished. And i appreciate your army corps. For stepping up to make these announcements and this healthcare possible. I sent a letter to Vice President mike pence about the shortage of supplies and medication used to provide covid19 patients. We have dangerously lowlevels of the medications required to safely place patients on ventilators and insure sufficient sedation and pain relief while they remain on ventilators. These medications are just as important as the ventilators themselves. Specifically, i asked the Vice President to improve coordination across all agencies to insure a steady supply of these essential medications as quickly as possible and to direct the d. E. A. To allow for more of these drugs to be produced. I was pleased to see that following my request, the d. E. A. Announced that it will temporarily allow for increesd production of medications, used in treating covid19 patients and that they would improve increased imports of medications as necessary for patient who are on ventilators. If also sign ive also signed a few executive orders. Ive signed one to suspend requirements regarding licensing and regulation of Emergency Medical Services and i signed one to reduce unnecessary inperson contact through the use of electronic that ignatures, remote note no tariizations and visitation. Were getting everything we can to get food benefits to michigan families and people who need it. The usda food and Nutrition Services has approved michigans plan to provide pandemic e. B. T. Snap benefits for children who are approved for free and reduce lunch at our schools. Michigan is the first in the nation to get this approval. And we are incredibly pleased about that. This approval will allow us to provide snap benefits to our kids to cover the cost that school meals would have provided had they been at school. His is a value of about 193 per month for child. 172 million will be going to michigan family and kids. And this gives the department of health and Human Services the ability to serve 895,000 children insuring that they have access to increased Food Security and these funds will be in addition to meals that are being distributed at school sites. Were working around the clock those who are navigating technical issues in applying for unemployment. They have extended Call Center Hours before an hour every day. 8 00 a. M. To 6 00 p. M. Monday through friday and remains open on saturday, 7 00 a. M. To 2 00 p. M. The last three weeks for march 15th through april 4th, michigan claims. 816,785 total we know were not alone in this high unemployment. In fact, every state in the nation is confronting the same thing that we are. 6. 6 million americans in the last week alone have applied similarly. Compared to the three weeks ending february 29th, march 7th and march 14th prior to covid19, this represents a 5,000 increase. Im committed to making sure that every eligible michigander receives their Unemployment Benefits. I appreciate your patience. Well have an update on numbers. As of today, we have 21,504 confirmed positive cases of covid19. Sadly, we have lost 1,076 michiganders to covid19 fatalities. The number of deaths has increased and will continue to increase and thats precisely why weve got to continue taking this so seriously. So i want to talk a little bit about models of what could happen in michigan over the next couple of months based on a number of factors. Gandderses stay safe and wear a homemade mask when they do have to leave the house while they practice social distancing and hand washing, we can see how many businesses maintain safe work environments for essential employees. Thats another fact tonight. And the third factor is the amount of p. P. E. We can get from our own procurement, from the federal government and private donations ramping up here in michigan to help our essential employees stay safe. These are the factors that go into the models to determine how long were going to be on this posture. On this graph, the purple line is the ihme from the university of washington model that the white house has been working off of. That model predicts our peak this week actually in the last couple of days. We believe that theyre basing their distribution of p. P. E. On this model. It assumes a very high level of adherence with sheltering in place, wuhan, china style that is not happening in michigan or anywhere in the country. So thats one assumption that we think is contributeding to this timeline contributing to this timeline that we see. This doesnt represent the reality of what is truly happening, the number of cases, the number of people in Critical Care and the number of deaths that we have continued to see rising every day. Some more likely scenarios based on the data that we have seen and what is actually happening right now in michigan is the blue and green line on that chart. The green line is what happens if everyone does their part. If we act now and continue to stay at home under really aggressive scenario, you can see that the line will start to flatten. The blue line is what will happen if only some of us observe those rules. And the red line is what would happen without any stay home, stay safe order and without social distancing. You can see that we are in control of our fate here. And it depends on every one of us doing our part. Ill go to just made a couple of observations. These lines arent just colors on a graph. If we can go back to the last one. Theyre not just colors on a graph, but this represents peoples lives. This represents your grandmother, your child, your sister, your brother, your coworkers. When we all take this seriously, we will save lives in michigan. We will save the front line Healthcare Providers that are struggling to keep up with the need. And we will come out of this in a more robust way where we can get our economy reengaged. I would like to go the university of michigan model at my team and i have been using modeling. It helps inform a lot of our decisions, based on information that is coming from the state. This show what is can happen when all michiganders can stay home through may 3rd. That is the blue line. Thats what the curve can look like if we stay socially distant through april 30th. The red line through april 13th so thats what our curve will look like if we stop social distancing now. And the black line is what we would have looked like if we hand done it in the first place. By observing social distancing, by adhering to the stayathome order, were going to protect more families. Youre going to save more lives. And were going to help ourselves get back on our feet sooner, which will be better for our economy in the long run. So has been a hard month. Weve got to take the lessons that weve learned from and use them for the betterment of our statement and our people. A couple of on vacations that were seeing play out nationally but were seeing at home. 14 of our population is africanamerican. Yet over 40 of the covid19 deaths in michigan are africanamericans. This virus is holding up a. Irror to our society from basic lack of access to care, to access of transportation to lack of protections in the workplace. These inequities that hit people of color and vulnerable communitys the hardest. Over the past four weeks, ive signed a number of executive orders to help insure safety and security of the people of our state especially focusing on the most vulnerable. We ban evictions and tax foreclosures. Weve expanded Unemployment Benefits. Weve taken action to get water restored. And today, im announcing the Michigan Coronavirus Task force on Racial Disparities which will be chaired by Lieutenant Governor garland gilchrist. Members of this task force will consistent of leaders across State Government and Healthcare Professionals from communities most impacted by the spread of coronavirus. The task force will start meeting this week, and will be charged with providing recommendations on how to address Racial Disparities and healthcare during the covid19 crisis. Members of the task force will regularly gather feedback from within impacted communities. Now, this is a start. And were going to continue to keep running. I talked about moms and babies during my state of the state and dispare and outcome in healthcare. I should not take a tragedy like this to really address this, but here we are. It is an opportunity to examine it, to understand it and to do better. It is an opportunity for us to expand Unemployment Benefits or perhaps paycheck protections protections for workers who are sick or insure access to a quality, affordable healthcare. Were going to come out of this. But we have got to come out of this smarter, having learned some things from this tough moment about the deep problems in our economy that we need real Meaningful Solutions on. As we recover from the impact of covid19, my administration will continue to work on longterm solutions for every family in michigan. I will work to insure that if another crisis comes our way, everyone no matter what community, no matter race or social economic status has the support they need to help support their families. These are the issues weve been focused on from the start. But theyve come into real focus in recent days. This is why we created the task force to inform steps that we can take to lift families out of poverty while were working with providers and universities to establish implicit buys training in curriculums. Thats why we raised asset test limits to insure more families can afford to raise their family and pay for things like food and rent and utilities. Ill continue working insure that every day of the year michigan ganders from detroit to flint, to marquette to grand rapids can put food on the table, can get to work safely and can have workplace protections they need. So today, i have signed an executive order to extend and expand michigans stay home stay safe order. Yesterday, dr. Fauci who weve all come to see on our television with great regularity said, we need to keep pushing mitigation strategies because theres no doubt that theyre having a positive impact on the dynamics of this outbreak. Now is not the time to pull back at all. It is the time to intensify. Thats exactly what were doing. As before, the order limits gathering and travel and requires all workers who are not necessary to sustain or protect life, to stay home until april 30th. Workers who can leave the home for work include those in healthcare and public safety, law enforcement, Grocery Store workers, Public Health and more. All public and private gatherings of any size are prohibited. People can still leave the house for outdoor activities. You need to take care of yourself. Hiking and running, walking, canoeing, kayaking or other Recreational Activities are still permitted so long as they are taking place within six feet of anyone else. The order also imposes more stringent limitations on stores to reduce foot traffic and to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives. Any large store must limit the number of people in the store at ne time to no more than one four customers of floor space. Smaller stores have to limit people to 20 of the total occupancy limit. Stores will tools senior to limit and establish lines to regulate entry with markings for patrons to enable them to stand that stay a sixfoot distance apart from one another. Michiganders are encouraged to mit householder rands to the minimum extent possible. Unless you have no other choice, your whole family shouldnt be running errands with you. The fewer the people, the better. Big box stores will have to close areas of the store that are dedicated to things like carpet or flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries or paint. If youre not buying food or medicine or other essential items you should not be going to the store. Your Grocery Stores will remain open. Your pharmacy will remain open so you can get your prescriptions filled. Your banks and Credit Unions will be funking. You can still fill your car with gas. And you can find the full list of Critical Services that remain open at michigan. Gov coronavirus. This doesnt mean that everythings going to go back to normal on the 30th. However, we do know for the next three weeks we have to take these important actions. Based on the data that we have right now, this is what is needed in an appropriate window for the extension through april 30th. But i want to be clear, the extension almost certainly wont be the last we have to say about how we protect the safety of our people of our state. Its going to take us some time get through this crisis. And while we hope to reengage parts of our economy, we must always do so driven may be the best science and best practices for our health dictate. It will take some time to safely and responsibly reopen the economy, which is why we will continue to provide critical unemployment support and assistance to Small Business during this challenging time. We will get through this. We will get through it with less people getting hurt in the process if everyone continues to do your part. Now, i know this is a heart time for families. I want to give special acknowledgement to caregivers. If youre a caregiver, pick up the phone, make a call or send a text. Stay connected. Let people know that youre thinking about them and ask if you can do something to help them even if its just listening. I also want to highly encourage older adults to stay home at this time if you can use a Grocery Delivery Service or a telephone or online order for your prescriptions. If youre looking for resources and youre 60 years old or older, call your area Office Agency on aging. They stand ready to assist. We can all do our part by helping one another in this time. Our older citizens are home bound. Those who are struggling with depression or those who have got disabilities. It is important that we reach out and lend one another a supportive ear over the phone or over face time. We can all do our part and lend a hand to someone who needs a little help right now. With that, im going to turn it caldeau. R. Jenae thank you, governor whitner. We continue to see a high number of covid19 patients and many deaths. Today, we are announcing 21,504 otal cases and 1,076 total deaths. We are seeing some very early data that suggests the growth rate for positive cases may be slowing. But there are still not enough testing happening across our state. Were working very hard to address that and youll be hearing from us in the upcoming days about where we think we can expand testing capacity. We already know that there are some parts of the state where there is community spread. This means now more than ever we have to double down and do everything we can to fight this disease. Too many people are getting sick. And too many people are dying. I have an elderly relative in new york state who has the disease. And im very concerned about them. All model projections are clear that without sustained social distancing measures, meaning if we loosen up too soon more people will die and hospitals will become overwhelmed. Todays extension of the governors stay home, stay safe order, is the most important thing we can do to slow the spread of this disease. It will make sure we have the time to build our Hospital Capacity and that our hospitals have the staff and the supplies and equipment to take care of the people who need them. We are pleased that this friday our t. C. F. Regional care center will be able to start taking patient who is have covid19 and are medically stable. We will see our first 25 patients starting on friday and will be ramping up in the upcoming days. This is a very important piece of our Public Health response. However, we still need medical professionals to staff our alternate care sights as well as our hospital who are currently handling this surge in covid19 patients. We especially have a need for respiratory therapists and registered nurse. Nurses. We encourage those people to reach out and help us. Hey can go to our website, michigan. Gov fightcoronavirus to sign up. Our team has been working very hard to analyze data to inform our Public Health response, but to also make sure the public knows how we are doing when it comes to fighting this disease in our state. We now have new Information Available on our website on hospitalizations, ventilator use, discharges and those who have recovered. As of yesterday with 89 of hospitals reporting, there were 3,826 inpatients across the state with covid19. 1,620 of those were in Critical Care. And of those 1,434 were on ventilators. And this data continues to change by the hour. We also know that there were 786 people who discharged from Emergency Departments yesterday with confirmed or suspected covid19. The data on hospitalizations and inpatient cases will continue to help guide our Public Health response. As the governor mentioned, we also know this disease is impacting communities of color disproportionately. 33 of cases and 40 of deaths in our state have been in africanamericans. We still need to get more robust data. But this is consistent with what we are seeing across the country. If people are disproportionately impacted by poverty, working in lower wage jobs, unable to work from home, needing to use public transportation, lack the ability to isolate sick individuals in their home appropriately or disproportionately have a higher rate of Chronic Health conditions, they will be more significantly impacted by this disease. And thats why the measures that the governor has put in place are so important and why im excited to work with the Michigan Coronavirus Task force on Racial Disparities so we can tackle this crisis in an equitable way. Its also why extending the stay home, stay safe order is so important. Finally, while we are focusing on keeping people physically healthy, we know this is taking a toll on the emotional and Mental Health of people across the state. Mental health is so incredibly important. And we dont want anyone to feel like they are alone in this. If anyone feels they need help dealing with the emotional toll the crisis is taking on them, they should not be afraid or a shamed to reach out for help. There is a National Disaster distress hotline that is available seven days a week, 24 hours a week. 18009855990. Thats 18009855990. And you can speak to someone and get connected to resources. As the governor mentioned, the upcoming weeks are going to incredibly be difficult. Im confident that we are doing the right things and we must not let up if we are to fight covid19 in michigan. With that, ill turn it back governor. U, Governor Whitmer all right. Happy to open it up. Governor will, there be any modifications of the stayathome order to accommodate certain businesses . You heard a lot from landscapers and golf courses and different regions of the state that have few or fewer cases . I wonder if there are modify cases for those . Governor whitmer one of the things that we know in looking at whats happening in michigan with covid19 is that since i did a press conference three days ago weve lost about 116 eople a day. 1,000 michigander have died. You know, these are not just numbers on the screen. These are husbands and wives and daughters and sons and grandparents who have lost the bat with a disease that is incredibly aggressive and contagious and deadly. My heartaches for every one of them. I think that its important to be clear while we can come up with all sorts of scenarios and make an argument that they are safe in whatever activity they want to do, every single exception to a stay home, stay safe order makes this more porous, make it less likely to work, means more people are going to get sick. More people are going to die. And our economy is going to suffer for longer. Golf, landscaping, ive heard these seem to be the ones that we hear the most from the legislature, some of the republican legislatures. Its not critical infrastructure. Its just not. They are not necessary to sustain life. And to be candid, just by engaging and it can expose female risk, serious risk, every time you ask a low income person to come out and fill up their gas tanks, go get food, its additional opportunity for exposure and for spread. And thats what happens. When you go to the golf course, you know what happens . You have to pay someone. So someones had to show up to take your money, handing money. Tee ave to go and get your time and get out of the cart after youve touched it. There are people who have to show up and go to work for your recreation, and were exposing all of them to covid19 as well as the golfer. And so for the sake of the health of our state, its really important that we remember were all in this together. That doing creating all sorts of exception for what is going to last for three more sweeks what this stayathome order is makes it more porous and less likely to be successful. We know that these tactics work. The man who stands next to President Trump every night on his briefings, has said this is the most important thing we can do. Weve seen it be successful in other states. We have to double down right now to save lives. People that want to get exceptions i understand what their thought is. But im in the business of savings lives. And thats precisely what this sword going to do. Lets abide by it. Lets get through the next three weeks and we can actually thoughtfully talk about possibly starting to reengage in an economic sense. Governor, have you thought about making your stay at home stay safe order regional since about 80 of the cases are in three urban county and there are still about 10 rural county where its not even traceable . Governor whitmer covid19 does not observe county line. It doesnt observe party line. It doesnt observe state line. Its why we really need a comprehensive policy. Ive been advocating for a comprehensive policy nationally. When eight states arent doing stayathome orders, it subjects us all to risk because people dont own state line and neither does the does. But what we can do is observe stayathome orders. Covid19 is present all across the state. It might not have been detected or tested, we might not have fatalities in different parts of the state, it is likely the more people go around the more likely it is going to show up. Ive talked to c. E. O. S about people traveling to a second home to go you know, to travel. They are not equipped to deal with a covid19 spread in large magnitude by people that are coming into the community. So theyre asking people to stay home. Lets get through crisis. Were asking for three weeks. Now, i know its its a sacrifice everyone is struggling with being isolated. But the fact of the matter is, were going save lives by observing this order and by initiating these service provisions. We dont want people traveling to second homes. We dont want people engaging their landscaper or going to the golf course for these reasons. The more people in are moving, the more likely spread and the harder it is for us to have the flattening that were trying to do for the health of our all of our economy and most importantly to save lives. So you mentioned that the suburban show place is going to be a second statement in is going to open up to treat patients with the center being the first. Is there a date you want this to open up by . And do you have your eye on a third facility . Whitmer ive been on fema one with the administrator and the army corps and ive been on the phone with everyone in washington. Weve been up and we will be able to accept patients in detroit. The other s to facility . Within the next few weeks we will see patients as whelm is there any thought that were not going to need those additional tpwheds the field hospitals . So we continue to monitor. Were talking every day with the hospital leadership about the number of cases theyre seeing and we will build out our alternate care facilities as needed. Right now, were going to start with 25 patients. Well start ramping up as wezz we need to. And pivoting the data as we see the data and hospitalization going forward. Governor whitmer it will be a great problem to have not to be able to use all those beds. And thats why the Stay Home Order is important to extend. The javiz center changed their model to look more like t. C. F. Where its a covid based. We had confidence in our model. And people seen the wisdom it in. So thats something to be proud of that we were very different and now everyone is replicating. You know, if we abide by the stayhomeorder and there is evidence that michiganders are taking this seriously, we can see a much flatter curve and maybe we wont have to use all of those. But we have to be prepared in the event that theyre not cesarean. Well go where the science and the need takes us. In some of the graphs that we saw, a lot of these went into june, mid july, could you see it go that far if we dont take the right precautions soon enough . Dr. J. . Well there, niese question. The better social distancing you do and the longer it happens, the better your fate will be. Well continue to look at the data, look at how our Hospital Capacity is doing and testing is doing across the state and well reevaluate. Youre right. Social distancing is important. And we may need to look at extending it. Governor whitmer we dont get the Health Crisis under control, the economic crisis will go on and on and on. Singapore was considered the Gold Standard for combating covid19. But then they stopped. And now theyve got a second wave. That would be the most devastating thing for our state if we think that on april 30th the you know, that we flip a switch and life returns to how it was. Its not going to be how it was. We have to come to terms with that and thats thats the harshest truth ive had to have the conversations with in my own family, where you know, were going to have to be smart the way we reengage. And were going to have a lot more testing. Im hopeful of the stayathome order that we get access to a lot more testing. So we know precisely who is recovered, who is at risk, who is someone that we should isolate, all of these things are really important. But we also have to worry about our economy. Theres no question, this is going to hit us hard. And i watch my colleague Governor Cuomo with whom ive been texting the last couple of days, say, 9 11 was hard on new york. Its nothing like what covid19 is going to mean for new yorks budget. And thats the same for every state in the nation. Were all in this together. And were all suffering because of it. What we can do is be really smart about how we reengage so that when we do reengage, we are on the real track to recovery and we dont have to go back and come back to this posture. That would be the worst case scenario. And thats why weve got to be smart on both frontings, tackling the economic crisis and the healthcare crisis. U. W is the how is the air. Expansion going with the Computer System . Is it having an impact. And is there any thought of reopening employment offices with social distancing to help ease that overcrowding . Governor whitmer so we have weve quadrupled the safe. Its interesting ive watched my colleagues answer the same question because were confronting it. This incredible number of 6. 6 Million People across the country who is trying to file for unemployment has crashed systems across the nation. I dont give that as an excuse because weve got to give it right but do i give that for perspective. This is an unprecedented number of people who are looking for help. Were rebuilding the system. Weve gotten it in a pretty good place from what i understand. We have quadrupled the staff to take phone calls. And you know, going online is always the best way to get in. But i did cut red tape because i think its important. People know, you dont need the paperwork you used to need from your employer. Youre eligible for more unemployment now than you were prior to covid19 because of the actions that ive taken and some of the help from the federal government. Were making progress. If you know, people are listening or reading and theyre still frustrated, i hope theyll give us more grace, but we will get to them and everyone will get their Unemployment Benefits that theyre eligible for. President trump is relying on states to create their own stockpile and said that the National Stockpile is kind of just a backup. I was wondering somehow that stockpile going and just if youre asking for anything else like more p. P. E. . Well, yes, im asking for everyone. I was on the phone as i sat with the secretary of the army today asking for more medics to come into michigan and he said, what else do you need . I need n95 masks, surgical masks, gowns and gloves, the same things weve needed from the start. As for you, know, the thought of a stockpile, thats a dream that moment because weve got hospitals that are going daytoday on the p. P. E. Front. I did a zoom call with a number of nurses today, you know, one had the n95 mask that she used for the whole day. Another was plaining that with covid 19 patients its really important to keep the door closed and to have you know, as few people go into the room as possible just to conserve p. P. E. So our r. N. s are going in and theyre doing the twhoork a phlebotomists do. Theyre doing the work that Janitorial Service does because we have to conserve masks. Masks. Person is so one person is doing the jobs of so many people that need to be done to conserve masks. I share that because i think listening to the nurses talk about the incredible strain that theyre under, they werent complaining, they were just sharing it because i asked. I said i want to understand what p. P. E. Means to you and the job youre doing. And one of them described a patient that had to say goodbye to their spouse and maybe never going to see them again because of how badly they were infected with covid19 and so, this is tough stuff. The thought of a stockpile is a dream right now. Were trying to get our hands on every mask, every, you know, n95 and surgical, every gloun and glove we can get. Some hospitals have a few days worth. Thats a vast improvement from where we were a week and a half ago where we were worried about getting through a weekend. Some are still, you know, having to conserve like, as i just described. Thats generally the again rule right now. Reporter have you made any decision about the april 10 candidate filing . And if that might be extended along with modifying how many signatures people have to get in order to file . Governor whitmer were having an internal conversation on that. Im sure well be able to share with you more in the coming days. Reporter have you been keeping track of the violations that have been written against businesses and individuals out there and what do you think about the senate task force set up to try to figure out ways to open up the economy quicker . Governor whitmer yes, so, yeah, of course were keeping track. Were i think its been something that im grateful for the attorney general for all of her help. Shes been remarkable. Were all and her whole team has been amazing. And then with regard to the Senate Bipartisan group, we welcome input from all different vantage points. Ill just say this. We have two crises on our hands. One is an economic crisis. This other is a Health Crisis. I am talking with a lot of thought leaders and on the economy and in business. But im going to always be making every decision based on my conversations with dr. Calhoun and our medical community because weve got to be smart on both fronts. And you cant reengidge on the economic side without knowing that youre doing the right thing on the health side. Thank you. Today, new Jersey Governor Phil Murphy gives an update on the coronavirus numbers and policies to fight the pandemic. Live coverage begins at 10 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan. Update on the Coronavirus Response in montana from governor steve bullock. The News Conference from helena is about 45 minutes
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