Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer | Michigan.gov
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer | Michigan.gov
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s plan for reopening the state of Michigan is to be slow and calculated, rather than doing it all at once.
According to MLive, the governor’s plan, known as “MI Safe Start,” will reopen nine workplace types gradually over the state’s eight regions. The decision to reopen certain areas at specific times will be dependent on their data concerning COVID-19.
Gov. Whitmer has loosened some of the restrictions on construction, real estate, retail and outdoor jobs, but Republicans are still pushing for more of the economy to open faster than she is currently planning.
In a recent press conference, Whitmer said that her decision to make more widespread reopening will be based on data, “not artificial timelines.”
“If we move forward and everything looks OK for a few weeks, we can look to expanding activity on the next level,” Whitmer said, according to MLive. “There’s no hard and fast timeline here.”
Whitmer is relying on the information of public health experts from the University of Michigan and the 29-member recovery council for the economy.
DTE Energy Chairman Gerry Anderson and retired Henry Ford Health System CEO Nancy Schlichting are just two of the individuals working with the governor on reopening the economy.
The nine workplace categories are: office, industrial, health care, retail, restaurant and lodging, schools, construction, outdoor and other.
Anderson previously said that the concept behind reopening the economy is to start phasing in the regions that are showing stability and the workplaces that are the lowest at risk of spreading the disease.
Marianne Udow-Phillips, founding executive director for the Center for Health & Research Transformation at University of Michigan, said that businesses such as spas, salons and gyms will be some of the last to reopen, given the close contact that is required to run these facilities.
Republicans have been frustrated by the slow reopen plan, but ultimately their frustration will do little to reopen the economy without supporting data from health officials.
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