Whitmer Gives Update On Michigan Pandemic Response: Livestream

LANSING, MI — Officials with the state of Michigan are holding a Tuesday afternoon news conference to update residents on the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will be joined by Michigan Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun at the news conference, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

The news conference will be streamed live here via the governor's official Facebook page.

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As of Monday, Michigan had reported 569,417 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 14,905 reported COVID-19 deaths. More than 498,000 people in Michigan have recovered from the coronavirus, state health officials said Saturday.

Tuesday's news conference comes a day after the state announced that a faster-spreading variant of the coronavirus from the United Kingdom has been confirmed in 10 counties.

Washtenaw County leads the state with 23 cases of the variant having been confirmed there while six B.1.1.7 cases have been confirmed in Wayne County. Four cases of the variant have been confirmed in both Calhoun and Kalamazoo county while Charlevoix, Eaton, Kent, Macomb, Sanilac and Van Buren have each reported one case, officials said Monday.

Michigan on Monday also received funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency and Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division to go toward its efforts to vaccinate residents for the virus.

FEMA is alloting Michigan $8.3 million as an advance payment to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for costs for a public information campaign focused on the vaccination efforts across the state. The campaign aims to inform the public about COVID-19 vaccination safety, COVID-19 vaccination sites, hours of operation and the registration process to get the vaccine, according to a news release.

State officials also are hopeful to expand COVID-19 vaccinations in Michigan, having previously said they want 70 percent of people 16 and older vaccinated by the end of the year. To help with that goal, local pharmacy chains such as Meijer and Rite Aid will be receiving direct doses of the vaccine to administer.

More than 40 Meijer stores across the state will partake in administering COVID-19 vaccines, with some administering up to 1,200 a day as part of a push to expand access to the vaccine beyond hospitals and local health department, The Associated Press reported.