For the first time in the state’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has pushed a region back a phase.
On Friday, the Governor announced the Upper Peninsula will move back into phase 4 in the state’s MI Safe Start Plan.
The changes take effect Friday October 9, 2020.
“This is the reality of where we are with this novel virus,” Gov. Whitmer said. “The Upper Peninsula has blissfully been free from the early challenges but now the challenge in Michigan is in the Upper Peninsula and we’ve got to take it seriously.”
Cases in the UP rose sharply in September and continue to rise. The Governor says now is the time to act.
“We’re very concerned about this alarming rise and that’s why we thought it was really important we move the region back to phase 4,” Gov. Whitmer said.
Here is a breakdown of what the move to phase 4 means.
It requires any work that can be done remotely to be done so. It makes masks a requirement in classrooms. Social gatherings, indoors at homes, must be 10 people or less. And when it comes to indoor buildings open to the public, it cuts capacity depending on the size of the building.
‘It is not a shutdown it is simply tightening up things and it’s known to work,” Gov. Whitmer said.
The Governor says the news out of the White House Friday serves as a reminder.
“None of us is immune to this virus,” Gov. Whitmer said. “When the President of the United States and the First Lady announced they both had COVID, I was sorry to hear that and I’m hopeful everyone sees this and makes this the opportunity where we double down on what we need to do to protect ourselves.”
That includes masking up.
“If we mask up, we can bring this virus to its knees, we can protect one another, we can resume some of the normal things in life that we so miss.” Gov. Whitmer said.
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