Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services [MDHHS], Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, and MDHHS Director Robert Gordon provided an update on COVID-19, which includes extending the three-week pause to 12 days [until Dec. 20] after reports of hospitals being overwhelmed and COVID-19 infection rates still not improving.
“A month ago we worried and we warned that on the trajectory we are on we could see 100 deaths a day by Christmas. That is what we were worried about … here we are a few weeks before Christmas we are already above that mark,” Whitmer said during a press conference on Facebook live. “That means our progress is fragile.”
Whitmer said that Thanksgiving numbers have not fully been reported but today marks two weeks since the holiday and “we will see the impact” and the numbers will need to be measured.
Hospitals are at 79% occupancy and it’s not as easy as it was in the spring [when there were lower COVID-19 numbers] to transfer nurses and healthcare workers to relieve hospital staff as needed because now COVID-19 numbers are higher across all parts of the state and country.
Whitmer added that also more frontline healthcare workers are getting sick.
“We cannot risk overwhelming our hospitals any further,” Whitmer said, adding that hospitals asked to extend the initial three-week pause to 12 more days and the protocols won’t be lifted all at once but it will be done “in a measured way.”
“This may be the most difficult time in our whole struggle with COVID since March, especially with holidays approaching,” Whitmer said, adding that the country is on the brink of incredible breakthroughs. “When it comes to vaccines [we are] closer than ever to … distributing the vaccine.”
Whitmer also encouraged people to protect one another by doing things people already know how to do: wear masks, social distance, and limit indoor gatherings.
“This has been a long, tough fight … we have flattened the curve once, we must do it again together,” Whitmer said.
Khaldun said presently, there are 19% of hospital beds that have COVID-19 patients in them.
“Unfortunately we are seeing over 100 deaths a day — on some days more than seven times the numbers we saw in early October,” Khaldun said, adding that when someone gets infected and they have a positive test, then hospitalizations rise. “Then we know unfortunately some people will lose their battle with COVID-19 and die.”
Khaldun added that some metrics will “change sooner than others.”
“We will continue to look at these metrics as we track the spread of the virus in Michigan,” Khaldun said, adding that this virus is real. “People are still coming into ERs even weeks after they have been diagnosed … we need to take this seriously and do what we can to prevent this spread.”
Gordon said that we’ve achieved “some progress” but the MDHHS is listening to hospitals and using other forms of measurements including:
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Looking at the percentage of hospital beds filled with COVID-19 patients
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COVID-19 case rates
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Positive COVID-19 cases
Gordon added that there is a lag between when a person gets infected and hospitalized and if the MDHHS only focused on hospitalizations they may miss other important statistics.
“One thing we learned is progress against COVID is hard to earn and easy to lose,” he said, adding that when a reopening does occur, these groups will reopen first:
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High schools
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Theaters
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Casinos
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Auditoriums
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Stadiums
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Bowling alleys
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Arcades
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Bingo halls
These openings will be without concession stands.
MDHHS statistics report that the average number of new confirmed cases is 4,675 per day, according to https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/.
Whitmer said in a follow-up Facebook post that “the science is settled.”
“The best way to slow the spread is to double down on wearing masks, social distancing, and limiting indoor gatherings where people are most at risk to contract COVID-19,” she said in her post. “Hope is on the horizon, but right now we have to stay focused on protecting our families and our frontline workers so we can eradicate this virus once and for all.”
For more information or to review the town hall, find “Governor Gretchen Whitmer” on Facebook.
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