Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday blamed travelers for an increasing number of cases of the B117 coronavirus variant – after asking “mercy” for a top staffer who took heat for a recent vacation in Florida.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to matter whether everyone does their part or not,” Whitmer told Meet the Press. “That’s the most important thing. This variant, the B117 variant, is what’s growing so fast in Michigan. We have the second most, I think, after Florida.”
“Michigan and Florida are not next to each other. But it’s the time of year that snowbirds come home from Florida, where people go on spring break, and all of these things can contribute to proliferation. That’s why we’re begging people to to take it seriously, to decorate, to test, ‘she said.
MICHIGAN GOV urges suspension of high school classes in person
Whitmer’s new health director traveled to Alabama earlier in April, shortly after the Democratic governor discouraged residents from traveling while Michigan led the country in new cases of coronavirus.
Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, was in the Gulf Shores, Alabama, according to the Michigan Information & Research Service. Gulf Shores is a popular destination along the Gulf of Mexico.
In this February 4, 2021 file, a file provided by the Michigan Office of the Governor Elizabeth Hertel, Director of the State Health Department, State, speaks in Lansing, Mich. (Michigan Governor’s Office via AP, File)
A DHHS spokesman told Fox News the agency was not discussing the director’s personal schedule.
Governor Tricia Foster made headlines for holidays in Florida earlier in April, though Whitmer said she was “concerned” about travel between states. Foster posted photos on Facebook of her vacation in Siesta Key. After Breitbart first reported on the trip, Foster deleted the message.
According to WCMU, Foster was instructed in January to oversee the state’s rollout strategy.
Whitmer addressed Foster’s journey on the podcast “MIRS Monday.”
“We’ve never had travel restrictions in Michigan, and I’m just encouraging people, if they’re traveling to be safe, to hide themselves, get vaccinated,” Whitmer said according to MIRS. “We all need to show a little mercy to each other. We’re all eager to get out.”
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During comments on April 2, Whitmer recommends that everyone be tested after any kind of trip, even in the state. Whitmer has also repeatedly expressed concern about the springbreakers traveling to Florida. She encouraged people to return from the Sunshine State to work from home for a week or to teach their children at a distance for a week.
“Yes, I’m worried” about travel between the states, the governor told reporters earlier this month. “That’s why we really encourage people to get vaccinated.”
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.