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Michigan's COVID cases surge to alarming levels, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer rejects new mandates
"Right now we're in a fourth surge," said one doctor.

By Bill Hutchinson
April 11, 2021, 11:15 AM

With her state battling the biggest surge of new COVID-19 cases in the nation, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she will not issue new mandates to blunt the outbreak, relying instead on the common sense of a citizenry now experienced in struggling with the deadly virus for over a year.

Data from state health officials shows Michigan has surpassed 100,000 active COVID-19 cases in the last week, the highest number since mid-November. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks the Wolverine State's COVID-19 infection rate as No. 1 in the country with 492.1 positive infections per 100,000 people.

The disturbing rise in cases appears to stem from the spread of the B-117 variant, also known as the U.K. variant, a more deadly and transmissible mutant comprising 70% of new coronavirus cases in Michigan, according to state and CDC data. The state has the highest number of U.K. variant cases in the nation, according to the CDC.

Hospitals throughout Michigan are also reporting a 30% increase in hospital admissions over the past week.

"We really have a race between the vaccination, which is coming and we're getting a lot more of it, and the infections which are right now ... in a fourth surge," Dr. Ora Pescovitz, a pediatrician and the president of Oakland University, told ABC affiliate station WXYZ in Detroit.

Despite the startling stats, Whitmer, who has previously come under attack for her stringent stay-at-home orders and was even the target of a foiled kidnapping plot, says she is not planning to roll back already loosened regulations for reopening the state, which now allows for 50% in-door dining at restaurants and public schools to reopen for in-class learning.

During a news conference on Friday, Whitmer urged residents to avoid indoor dining for two weeks and for high schools to consider going back to virtual learning for two weeks. She also wants to hit pause on organized youth sports.

"To be very clear, these are not orders, mandates, or requirements. A year in, we all know what works and this has to be a team effort. We have to do this together. Lives depend on it," Whitmer said. "There's light at the end of this tunnel, but the recent rise in cases is a reminder that we are still in the tunnel. That's the nature of this virus, the second we let our guard down it comes roaring back."

Whitmer said she asked President Joe Biden on Thursday to ramp up the supply of Michigan's COVID-19 vaccine allocations, specifically, the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, saying it's essential to efforts to combat the outbreak hitting her state.