Gretchen Whitmer Asks Michigan Residents to Avoid Indoor Dining for Two Weeks

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and state health officials asked residents on Friday to avoid indoor dining and gave additional recommendations.

In order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Whitmer is urging high schools to move to remote learning, asking diners to use outdoor dining or takeout, and recommending youth sports pause in-person activities for two weeks, WLUC reported.

During the press conference, the governor stated:

We all have to step up our game for the next two weeks to bring down rising cases. And that’s why I’m calling on high schools to voluntarily go remote for two weeks past spring break, calling on youth sports to voluntarily suspend games and practices for two weeks. And I’m strongly encouraging all Michiganders to avoid dining indoors and avoid gathering with friends indoors for two weeks. Support your local restaurants by eating outside, or getting carry out instead of dining indoors. Opt for small, outdoor gatherings with masks.

“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,” she continued.

The governor and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun added the state will administer five million doses of the coronavirus vaccine by the close of Friday.

When asked why it appears the Biden administration is not surging vaccines to her state, Whitmer said it is sending “things to support us whether it’s therapeutics or mobile testing and vaccination ability or boots on the ground.”

“But we are going to continue to fight for additional vaccines. That is not a policy that they have embraced at this juncture but I’m going to continue to fight for our state,” Whitmer noted.

“I believe that a surge strategy is prudent, equitable, and important, and that’s the case that I’m making to the head of the COVID [coronavirus] response team in the administration,” she added.

The state topped the nation’s daily tally of recent coronavirus cases this week despite its mask mandate, Breitbart News reported Tuesday.