Whitmer Hints She Could Remove COVID-19 Restriction This Week

LANSING, MI — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may put an end to COVID-19 restrictions in Michigan sooner rather than later.

Whitmer suggested Wednesday that she may announce this week an early end to a Michigan Department of Health and Human Service order restricting capacity limits at most indoor public places to 50 percent. The order currently slated to end on July 1.

"We're looking forward to the next rollback in the coming days," Whitmer said Wednesday during a news conference on an unrelated issue. "It's scheduled for July 1 but I think you should stay tuned."

Related: Michigan's Mask, Gathering Rules Will Be Lifted On July 1

More than 892,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Michigan, where the COVID-19 death toll currently stands at 19,578. The state has continued to see a steep decline in the number of new cases and deaths; Michigan reported just 179 new cases of the coronavirus and four COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday.

The decline in numbers has prompted Whitmer in the past to make changes to plans on when things would begin to reopen amid the pandemic.

Whitmer had launched the MI Vacc To Normal plan earlier this year, prior to the third surge in COVID-19 cases ending. With vaccination rates rising, she moved forward on the plan faster than anticipated.

But still, Michigan would be one of the last states to remove COVID restrictions, according to The New York Times.