Governor Whitmer and Dr. Fauci address Michigan restrictions as COVID cases skyrocket

DETROIT – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defended her approach to combating the recent wave of COVID cases, as Dr. Anthony Fauci called for stricter restrictions in Michigan.

Read: Coronavirus in Michigan: This is what you need to know on April 18, 2021

The two appeared on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning, while Michigan continues to see the worst case rates in the entire county.

Whitmer blamed part of the blame for a Michigan Supreme Court decision that withdrew his emergency orders in October.

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With cases continuing to rise, Whitmer maintained his decision to keep the state open while health officials urged him to do the opposite.

“The best way when you’re in the middle of a real outbreak and a big increase, is to really close things up a lot more,” Fauci said. “When you’re in the middle of a Wi-Fi hotspot, the best thing you can do is 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 mandates, we have capacity restrictions, we have work from home, where we implore people to take a two-week break.”

Several Detroit Metro hospitals are already complaining of being overrun with patients, according to Carolyn Wilson, general manager of Beaumont Hospital, in Sunday’s “Flashpoint.”

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“What we’re seeing is a combination right now: an increase, obviously, in the number of patients with COVID and many people in our community who have delayed care, who also see care that they are not COVID,” he said. Wilson. “We’re pretty full.”

Whitmer hinted that he did not have the same power he had during previous Stay-at-Home orders due to the Michigan Supreme Court ruling in October.

“In the waning months, I’ve been sued by my legislature, I’ve lost in a Republican-controlled Supreme Court, and I don’t have all the same tools,” Whitmer said.

While Whitmer said he is beginning to see signs of the pandemic slow down, he has called for more doses of the vaccine, which Fauci said cannot happen right now.

“If you take vaccines from other places and move them, you make that place vulnerable to what’s happening in Michigan,” Fauci said.

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