LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended a state of emergency, which has been in place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, until Oct. 27 at 11:59 p.m.
A state of emergency allows the governor to issue executive orders and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic quickly. It also mobilizes state resources to help in the fight against the virus.
“This emergency will end, and it is a matter of months. But we are not out of the woods yet. Right now, the federal government and all 50 states have been under some form of state of emergency. We must continue doing our part to fight this virus on behalf of our families, frontline workers, and our small businesses," Whitmer said in a news release.
The state of emergency was set to expire at the end of the day on Oct. 1. The emergency was first declared on March 10 to allow the state to address COVID-19 by mobilizing resources and issuing executive orders. It has been extended multiple times since then.
The governor also extended four other executive orders that were put in place to protect vulnerable populations during the pandemic, including restrictions on healthcare, long-term care, and juvenile justice facilities, protections for prisons and jails, protections for grocery store workers, and allowing businesses to be conducted remotely through e-notaries.
As of Tuesday, Michigan reported 123,633 total cases of COVID-19--more than 95,000 of those have recovered. The 7-day average is just below 900 daily cases. In total, 6,751 people have died from coronavirus in Michigan.
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