GOV. WHITMER SEES ENCOURAGING DATA
Bills signed extending jobless benefits, offering relief for small businesses
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had words of warning for Michiganders on Tuesday even while she shared good news about COVID-19 data.
The positivity rate has dropped to 8.4 after hitting a high of 15.99 percent on Dec. 2. The number of COVID patients in hospital beds across the state is 13.8 percent, down from 16.5 percent the previous week.
“Because of the actions we’ve taken, because so many Michiganders have done their part, our numbers are better than all of our Midwestern neighbors. These numbers are encouraging. We will continue to monitor them closely to see if holiday travel will have a significant impact,’’ Whitmer said in a press briefing.
The work is not done and just because the calendar turns from 2020 to 2021 this week, the pandemic is not over.
“I’m asking that everyone continue to do what you’ve been doing. Maybe stay home for New Year’s, maybe get some takeout to support your local restaurants and businesses but stay close to home and celebrate responsibly,’’ Whitmer said. “We are coming through the end of 2020 in a stronger position than most, because of you.”
The restrictions that ban indoor dining at restaurants and do not allow concessions to be sold at movie theaters, casinos and bowling alleys are in effect until Jan. 15.
Whitmer could extend those restrictions or let them run their course. She said she will be looking at data including the positivity rates and number of hospitalizations, along with mobility data to make her decision.
The numbers for the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays, which could impact her decision-making, have not shown up on the data yet.
“We know for Thanksgiving a lot of Michiganders took it very seriously and were not out and about, not gathering. We saw that worked to all of our benefit because our numbers have been on a continuous decline,’’ Whitmer said. “They’re still four times what they were in September, they are still high but they’ve been moving in the right direction. If that continues to be the case then certainly we would feel that there was lower risk in re- engaging other sectors of our economy.’’
Whitmer signed a relief bill on Tuesday that includes $ 55 million to help small businesses impacted by COVID-19. Grants of up to $20,000 will be available to small businesses. The relief bill also includes $3.5 million for grants of up to $40,000 each for live music and entertainment venues, and includes $45 million in direct payments to workers who have been laid off or furloughed as a result of the virus.
She also signed bipartisan Senate Bill 604 extending unemployment benefits for Michiganders who have lost work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic from 20 to 26 weeks until the end of March 2021.
“When I signed this supplemental budget I had to line-item veto any items that were not subject to our negotiated agreement with the legislature that includes a $220 million giveaway of taxpayer money to the employer owned unemployment insurance trust fund,’’ Whitmer said. “I want to be very clear this will not impact individual workers. General fund dollars have got to be used to fund essential services like vaccines and PPE, not to give tax
breaks to big businesses right now.
“The funding that I vetoed had nothing to do with extending benefits. It’s a line-item veto that will nor prevent any unemployed
Michigander from getting their benefits,’’ Whitmer added.
Help is also on the way with nearly 71,000 Michigander vaccinated so far.
“Overall there is reason to be cautiously optimistic but it’s important that people do not get complacent. What we are seeing in the data is not a cause to cel
ebrate. While Michiganders are doing a great job bringing our cases down that process is fragile,’’ said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
“We are still identifying many cases across the state every day. It
only takes one gathering to spread through multiple households and their close contacts,’’ Khaldun said. “While we are certainly moving in the right direction … Let’s just get through the rest of this holiday season and give ourselves a strong start to 2021 without a surge in cases from the holidays.’’