Gov. Whitmer, dr. Fauci, addresses Michigan restrictions as COVID cases rise

DETROIT – Government Gretchen Whitmer defends her approach to fighting the recent boom in COVID cases, as dr. Anthony Fauci has called for stricter restrictions in Michigan.

Read: Coronavirus in Michigan: here’s what you need to know on April 18, 2021

The two appeared on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning while Michigan still sees the worst rate in the entire province.

Whitmer places part of the blame on a decision in the Michigan Supreme Court that removed her emergency orders in October.

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As matters continued to increase, Whitmer decided to keep the state open while health officials urged her to do otherwise.

“The best way to be in the middle of a really big outbreak and a big boom is to close things a lot more,” Fauci said. “If you’re in the middle of a hotspot, it’s best to try to contain it.”

Whitmer said the state is doing enough.

“We still have very strong measures in place to keep people safe,” Whitmer said. “We have mask assignments, we have capacity constraints, we have work from home where we ask people to take a two-week break.”

Several Metro Detroit hospitals are already complaining about being overwhelmed by patients, according to Carolyn Wilson, chief operating officer of Beaumont Hospital on Sunday’s “Flashpoint”.

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“What we’re seeing right now is a combination – obviously an increase in the number of COVID patients and a lot of people in the community who have delayed care, who also see non-COVID care,” Wilson said. “We’re pretty full.”

Whitmer did hint that she did not have the same power as during the previous stay-at-home orders due to the Supreme Court ruling in Michigan in October.

“In the waning months, I was sued by my legislature, I lost in a Republican-controlled Supreme Court, and I do not have exactly the same instruments,” Whitmer said.

While Whitmer said she was starting to take down the signs of the pandemic, she asked for more doses of the vaccine, something Fauci said could not happen at this stage.

“Taking vaccines from other places and moving around makes the place vulnerable to what’s going on in Michigan,” Fauci said.

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