Whitmer press conference establishes Stay In Place order

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun held a press conference on Monday morning.

At 11 am on Monday morning, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held a special press conference at which she instituted an Executive Order requiring all non-essential businesses and services to cease, and urging all Michigan residents to stay at home, stay in place, beginning at midnight Monday night, and continuing for three weeks, until April 13.

“Stay Home. Stay Safe. Save Lives,” was the overriding theme of Whitmer’s message.

Schools will remain closed through April 13, and Whitmer especially called on Michigan’s young people to take this situation very seriously. “I know this is hard; I know it’s disruptive,” she said. “But be smart. Follow the order. Take every precaution and do your part.

“Coming back from this will take time, and it won’t be easy,” she added. “But this is how we have a shot at keeping this virus from spreading. We need to work together.”

Whitmer and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun both emphasized that this situation is temporary, but that it is essential to comply with the order. “Stopping the spread of this virus is the most important tool we have right now,” Whitmer said, noting that as of the time of the conference, Michigan had gone from zero cases of COVID-19 to 1,232 in just 13 days. “If we continue on our current trajectory, more than 70 percent of our population could get infected. A million people could be hospitalized. And we now have about 25,000 acute care beds in the state.”

Khaldun noted that despite MDHHS preparing for this eventuality for more than two months, many people are still unable to get a test, and that is part of the reason the state is acting right now to try to slow the spread of this pandemic. “We are taking aggressive, but temporary, measures to assure we can do this,” she said.

“This is not a recommendation. It’s an order,” Whitmer concluded. “It takes all of us to take this seriously, for this to work. If you’re not an essential business, you need to close.”

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.