Governor Gretchen Whitmer says Michigan is seeing an uptick in new COVID-19 cases.
The latest numbers show Michigan has more than 71,000 confirmed cases and 6,085 deaths, and the pace of known new infections is picking up.
She says the reason is people are starting to abandon precautions to slow the spread of the disease.
Whitmer says that threatens progress the state’s made over the past four months in reducing infection rates.
She says there are more people getting together without wearing masks or practicing social distancing.
“We have a choice to make – do we double down and get more vigilant in our fight against this virus? Or we let all of our hard work go to waste? All of our hard work over the last four months?”
Whitmer says that includes plans to re-open schools to in-person learning in the fall, and to allow more businesses to re-open their doors to customers.
The governor has extended Michigan’s COVID-19 state of emergency through August 11th, which allows her to re-impose restrictions if she finds it necessary.
“If the majority of us mask up, if all of us mask up, every kid will be in school this fall. If everyone masks up, we’re going to see our numbers plummet and our economy’s going to get stronger,” says Whitmer.
Want to support reporting like this? Consider making a gift to Michigan Radio today.
