Active COVID News Week in Michigan: Everything You Need to Know

It’s been a very busy week for COVID-related issues in Michigan, from debates about another closure to quickly filling hospitals to six more months of work restrictions.

If you’ve had trouble keeping up with everything or just want an update, here’s a breakdown of all the main COVID-19 topics.

Everyone wants to know if Michigan will close again due to the rise in total cases. How Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical officer of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said Wednesday, the case of the state and positivity rates they are five times what they were two months ago.

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But Governor Gretchen Whitmer has insisted over the course of the week that his administration has no plans to impose additional restrictions beyond those already in place. These include rules covering meetings, restaurant capacity limits, and masks.

MONTH: Michigan does not yet issue new COVID-19 restrictions; here’s why

On Monday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made it clear he believes Michigan needs to close.

“The answer to that is to really close things down, get back to our basics, get back to where we were last spring, last summer, and close things to flatten the curve,” Walensky said.

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When Whitmer held the briefing on Wednesday, his stance had not changed.

“Right now, we know that the tools at our disposal that can most dramatically improve people’s outcomes in this state are vaccines, and that’s why we move so quickly to vaccinate people,” Whitmer said. .

The governor’s position is essentially this: he believes that the spread of COVID-19 can be slowed down by the rules that already exist. He thinks the problem is a combination of non-compliance, more contagious variants and reservoirs of people without antibodies.

RELATED: Why Whitmer Says Michigan’s Low COVID Rates at Early Pandemic Are Contributing to Current Rise

Last week he asked Michiganders not to dine inside restaurants, not to participate in youth sports, or not to meet people from other homes for two weeks. But those will still be recommendations, not rules, he said.

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Dr. Nick Gilpin, medical director of infection prevention at Beaumont Health, spoke Thursday about hospital capacity and agreed with Walensky.

“If you also look back at our previous climbs, what was the difference?” Gilpin asked. “The difference in the first wave we experienced is that there were restrictions in the community to limit collection sizes and limit indoor activities that we know are very effective ways to transmit the coronavirus. We saw it in March and April last year. We saw it during the fall and winter months in Michigan, and I think both floods, in part, we curved because of active restrictions. “

When asked directly if he believes Michigan should close, Gilpin said he believes Michigan needs more restrictions to fight that wave.

“I think yes, we need to have some level of commitment to restrict some of these activities to the community,” Gilpin said.

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Whitmer wants the federal government to increase additional vaccines in Michigan because of the rapid spread of COVID-19 here. But this is not part of the national vaccination plan.

TO READ: Whitmer calls for additional vaccines to be sent to Michigan ‘COVID hotspot’

“There are different tools we can use for different periods when an outbreak occurs,” Walensky said. “For example, we know that if vaccines go into arms today, we will not see any effect on these vaccines, depending on the vaccine, for a period of 2 to 6 weeks.

“I think if we try to get vaccinated about what’s going on in Michigan, we’ll be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work, so it has an impact. Similarly, we need this vaccine elsewhere. If we vaccinate today and we’ll have impact in six weeks and we don’t know where the next place will grow. “

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Andy Slavitt, the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, agreed.

“We have to remember the fact that in the next 2-6 weeks, the variants that we’ve seen in Michigan, those variants are also present in other states,” Slavitt said. “Therefore, our ability to vaccinate people quickly in each of these states, rather than taking vaccines and switching them to playing the mill, is not the strategy that leaders and health scientists have established. public “.

The other big news about the vaccine this week is that Michigan will follow FDA and CDC recommendations temporarily pause the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Of the 6.8 million people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine nationwide, officials have identified six women who developed a rare blood clot later, according to experts.

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“As a precaution, we are following FDA and CDC recommendations and pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Michigan,” Khaldun announced.

While these cases of blood clots are extremely rare (only six in 6.8 million), experts are investigating to be sure.

For now, any Michigander scheduled to receive a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine should proceed as planned and anyone who allegedly receives the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should reprogram or receive one of the other brands, officials said.

Michigan has expanded the COVID workplace rules which were already underway and are now in effect until October 14th.

The six-month extension means that employees who can work from home in a feasible way should do so in order to reduce the possibility of extending COVID-19.

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TO READ: Do COVID rules in the Michigan workplace mean employees can’t go back to work in person?

It is allowed to work in person for jobs that cannot be done anywhere else, but it is recommended to work remotely.

Face-to-face companies must maintain a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and provide comprehensive training to employees. This training should cover infection control practices in the workplace, such as using personal protective equipment, steps to notify the company of COVID-19 symptoms, and how to report unsafe working conditions.

Federal officials announced extended unemployment benefits will no longer be available by Michiganders after this week. They will officially expire on Saturday.

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These benefits expire because the state’s unemployment rate has dropped below the required threshold. Extended benefits become effective when the total unemployment rate averages 6.5% or higher for three consecutive months.

The U.S. Department of Labor notified the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency that the program will no longer be paid after this week. UIA officials have begun notifying the 16,000 claimants who are currently receiving extended benefits upon completion of the program.

The extended benefit program provided an additional 13-20 weeks of benefits for people who have exhausted regular unemployment benefits and other extensions.

Michigan officials said the state has paid about $ 419 million in extended benefits since high unemployment rates triggered the program.

Gilpin said most of Beaumont’s hospitals are very close to reaching capacity. He expects them to reach his roof soon.

“It’s tight,” Gilpin said. “Every day, each of our places meets very actively to see what they can do to create space.”

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Beaumont Health Nursing Director Susan Grant said on Thursday morning (April 15) most Beaumont hospitals have a capacity of between 90% and 95%.

During the second wave in Michigan this winter, Beaumont treated more than 700 COVID-19 patients from its eight-hospital system, Gilpin said. There are more than 800 patients right now.

Gilpin compared it to “a runaway train.”

“If we continue to see COVID numbers increase, we will have to make some accommodations, open some extra beds, but again, the challenge here and the topic of the day is: where do we get this staff from?” Gilpin said.

Grant said nurses and hospital workers are physically and emotionally exhausted. Some nurses have opted for early retirement and others are leaving the profession altogether.

“We worry about it every day and unfortunately we’re already seeing it,” Grant said. “It is very worrying.

“At this time last year, none of us would have imagined, going through those extraordinarily difficult times, that we would be here again, the same time this year. That we would be working and seeing so many patients infected with the coronavirus. Hundreds and hundreds of them go through our emergencies. “

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Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan is concerned about hospital capacity and vaccine rates in the city.

Of the 22 Detroit residents who died of COVID-19 in the first ten days of April, 10 were 70 and older and have been eligible for the vaccine since January, he said.

“Many of these tragic deaths were preventable,” Duggan tweeted. “Our hospitals are on the rise with COVID-19 patients. With COVID-19 vaccines more accessible than ever, I urge Detroiters to get vaccinated as soon as possible. “

He said Detroiters aren’t getting vaccinated at a high enough rate. Moderna and Pfizer vaccine appointments continue to be widely available.

“Compared to the surrounding counties and suburbs, Detroit’s vaccine rate is extremely low,” Duggan posted in a tweet.