CDC Director Urges Michigan To Shut Down After Becoming Hot Spot For Covid-19

Michigan has become a hot spot for the Coronavirus. During a press conference on Friday, Michigan’s Chief Medical Executive, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said it’s on track to see a surge that’s greater than the one they saw in the fall.
The state’s Covid-19 cases per million people are four times higher than they were in mid-February. The percent of positive tests are also four times higher than February and hospitalizations are on the rise. According to Khaldun, Michigan has tracked more than 2,200 cases of Coronavirus variants and has said ‘There are likely more that we don’t even know about.”  She also added “Our public health system is overwhelmed. We are not able to get information on many cases nor are we able to identify their close contacts.”

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has asked for more vaccines and has been in constant touch with federal leaders. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said a boost of vaccine supply isn’t the only answer and has urged the state to ‘shut things down’, test and contact trace as much as possible. She said it would take several weeks for vaccines to kick in and reduce the cases. She also suggested high schools go remote for two weeks past their spring break, youth sports to suspend games and practices for two weeks and residents to avoid dining and gathering indoors.