Whitmer Asks For 2-Week Pause On Indoor Dining, Youth Sports

LANSING, MI — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking for a two-week pause on indoor dining, in-person high school classes and all youth sports in the state amid a recent spike in new COVID-19 cases.

But the governor did not order a suspension of those activities during a news conference held in Lansing Friday morning, an action she has taken often throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the governor opted to "strongly urge" residents to take precautions while calling the uptick in cases "concerning."

"I know Michiganders are concerned about the latest rise in case, and I am, too," Whitmer said Friday. "We've come so far, we've sacrificed so much. This has changed every aspect of our lives for over a year. We can't let up now, not when we're so close."

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Whitmer's decision to recommend and encourage people order to-go from restaurants, requesting high schools switch to virtual classes and that all youth sports suspend activities for two weeks, instead of requiring them is less about policy and more about behavior.

"We know now that we've got the tools we need to protect ourselves," she said. "We need everyone to step up and to take personal responsibility here."

The governor did say that she is not taking any options "off the table," however.

Read More: Whitmer Mum On More Restrictions As Michigan COVID-19 Cases Spike

Michigan is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases that is putting pressure on Michigan hospital systems, Whitmer warned. Michigan has been one of a handful of states — joining Florida, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — seeing a significant surge in new COVID-19 cases over the past seven days. During that time, those five states have accounted for 44 percent of the nation's new COVID-19 infections — or nearly 197,500 new cases, according to state health data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Health officials in Michigan said the state has seen 58 new outbreaks of the coronavirus in the restaurant and retail settings in the past week.

"This is serious," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan's chief medical executive with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, at a news conference Friday. "We are all connected and we're in this together and now is the time for us all to heed these warnings and do our part."

While the two-week pause for virtual high school classes, less indoor dining and the suspension of all youth sports are just recommendations, Khaldun said residents should "not take these recommendations lightly."

"It will go a long way to prevent the spread of the virus and save lives," she said.

A big reason for the recent spike in coronavirus cases is the introduction of multiple variants of the coronavirus, according to Tina Freese Decker, the president & CEO of Spectrum Health. The variants — which have been linked overseas to places such as the U.K. and Brazil — have grown rapidly and are "widespread in our communities," Decker said.

"We need to treat this time, this surge, seriously," Decker said Friday.

Whitmer said that while many states have begun to drop some health protocols, Michigan continues many of its original guidelines, such as its public mask mandate. The state also has limitations on indoor social gatherings, prohibiting public events with more than 25 people.

During the news conference, officials said Michigan has tracked coronavirus outbreaks associated with youth sports over the last few weeks. Currently, state health officials require COVID-19 testing for youth sports between the ages of 13-19, and provides testing assistance. For all youth sports, participants must test on at least a weekly basis for COVID-19, and also before any unmasked activity.

Whitmer said she believes vaccination efforts in Michigan — a state where more than 5.1 million doses of the vaccine have been administered to over 3.1 million residents — is the key to reopening the state and ending the pandemic.

Nearly 40 percent of the state's residents have been vaccinated, Whitmer said, and things are "speeding up."

"The vaccine is the most effective way to protect you and your family from this virus, and getting vaccinated is the quickest way for our lives to return to normal," Whitmer said.

Looking to boost the number of vaccines that can be administered in Michigan amid the surge, Whitmer has asked the White House for additional doses, according to The Associated Press.

But instead of more doses, the White House seems set on sending Michigan resources to help it adminster doses it already has been allotted.

President Joe Biden recently told Whitmer in a recent conference call that the White House is prepared to send an additional 160 FEMA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention personnel to the state to assist in vaccinations, on top of the 230 federal personnel already deployed to the state to support pandemic response operations, according to The Associated Press.

When asked about Biden not sending additional vaccines to the state, Whitmer called Biden a friend, but noted "shortcomings and different points of view."

"The Biden administration does have a strategy, and by and large it is working as should be expected, though (with) an undertaking of this magnitude there are shortcomings and different points of view," Whitmer said Friday. "I appreciate President Biden's confident, competent, leadership, and we are grateful to the administration for rapidly increasing vaccination supply nationwide."