LANSING, Mich. — 13 ON YOUR SIDE's Alana Holland sat down for an interview with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer via Zoom Tuesday. The duo discussed a wide array of topics, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the next steps for moving forward.
QUESTION: You've said we're not out of the woods yet. Where does Michigan stand right now in it's response to the pandemic?
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: The vast majority of the state is in phase four. Regions six and eight are in phase five. We're watching the numbers very closely. We're concerned. We know that people are moving around a lot more, we've engaged more sectors of our economy. We are seeing some increase in positive tests, and so really understanding the context of those is what's so important here. If you see a spike in an area, and it's limited to one place of employment or one, you know, restaurant, that's something that we can isolate pretty quickly and keep from growing exponentially. If it is not associated with one situation, then that's a lot more concerning. So, as we see these numbers, we've got to do the tracing. And that's how we identify what the inherent risk is in a particular area. My goal is to have the whole state to phase five by the Fourth of July. I'm not sure if we're going to get there. We're going to have to keep watching the data and watching very closely. What we see happening across the country shows you that we still have COVID-19. We are still at a very high risk of exponential spread. That's why mask wearing is so important. We can't let masks become a political statement. This is about our public health. This is about every one of your viewers and their families and communities. And so when two people are wearing a mask, we really bring down the risk of spread to 1.5%. That's why it's so important.
QUESTION: What is your response to the GOP's $1.3B plan to help K-12 schools reopen?
Whitmer: I mean, it's it was a great one-pager. I think it's a good start. The work that has been done by the task force is so much more in depth I think. We have seats at the table for experts from across the state. It's really important to get this right. So I welcome the GOP. They've got their one-pager. We are working incredibly hard with this task force made up of experts and we want to get it right. And I'm absolutely always happy to work with everyone who shares that goal.
QUESTION: Can the GOP use coronavirus aid dollars for that plan? Is that something that can happen?
Whitmer: It's not. I think that these cares act dollars come with a lot of strings attached to them. And so they have to be spent by the end of this calendar year. So, using them toward a school year that doesn't begin until September, actually is not an appropriate use of the dollars. I think certainly the legislature, maybe they didn't understand that I'm not quite sure. But that's part of why this work that this task force is doing is so important. We've got to get it right.
QUESTION: What is your response to a judge recently declining the appeal to postpone opening gyms?
Whitmer: So, this legal case is about a lot more than just gyms. This judge has basically attacked the executive office, the office of the governor's ability to take these aggressive actions that we had to, that have saved thousands of lives and put Michigan in a leadership position. The fundamental attack on the authority of this office is something that I absolutely have to appeal. Because here's what we know, the Republican legislature is trying to take away powers from this office. When you look at what's going on across the country, there's no question that it's been a tough time for us. But we've navigated it and it's because of the authority of this office, I was able to get as much information as I could and made the hard decision. So, this ruling from this judge is something that undermines all of those efforts and have we not had these disability, there's no question Michigan would still be very in very precarious position and we would probably just be contemplating lockdowns and have lost thousands more.
QUESTION: We have many viewers asking us questions about unemployment. Many haven't received their money yet. What do you say to them?
Whitmer: Well, I'd tell them to hang in there and to to stay in the queue. We are going to get to everyone, and everyone is going to get everything to which they're entitled. It stinks that has taken so long. I'm frustrated too. Here's what I know coming in. We had an unemployment agency that was certainly not capable of taking on this incredible historic number of people who need unemployment. On top of it, the infrastructure, the IT, had not been invested in in a very long time. They've got a terrible computer system, and not enough people employed in the agency. So, we've tried to build a lot of that up in the midst of this crisis. But it has been downright frustrating for a lot of people, understandably so. 93% of the people that have applied have gotten the relief to which they are entitled. That doesn't mean that those 7% should forgive a system that isn't meeting their needs. But I just give you that perspective, because we've moved over $11 billion into unemployed people in Michigan. We've done a lot of work, we have more to do and we're not going to stop until we get to everybody.
QUESTION: A lot of those questions about unemployment are about not being able to quickly remedy any errors they made in filing. Why is that a challenge?
Whitmer: Some of these paperwork mistakes require a person-to-person navigation through the system. We've quintupled the number of people that are working the phones. We've kept clearing through the backlog, we have more to get to, but for those instances, it takes a person-to-person to be able to remedy the situation. And these are just jobs that you can take someone from one position and put them in here. There's a lot of training that goes into it, and that's why quintupling it has taken a little bit of time. It's been really important that people have the appropriate training. So we are getting there, we will get to every single person, and they will get the benefits that they that they're entitled to. It's just a terrible thing that we're seeing play out across the country. It doesn't excuse it. But I just share that for perspective, because this is a challenge unlike anyone's ever confronted before.
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