opinion
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer assumed command of the state’s response and has not let go. She decided businesses and schools needed to close, ordered everyone to stay home and identified which services and employees were “essential” and which ones weren’t. Since then, she has allowed the state to slowly reopen, but at times, the governor has reintroduced restrictions on certain activities, especially in reaction to rising COVID-19 case counts.
But with her recent executive orders, Whitmer abandoned this approach. The data does not support opening the state further, at least not according to her previously announced plans. And she is now letting individuals decide for themselves if certain activities are too dangerous, such as playing organized sports.
On July 29, Whitmer issued an executive order that created a statewide ban on indoor bars and also limited social gatherings to 10. The governor explained this was necessary because Michigan’s “progress in suppressing [COVID-19]” had “stalled” and the seven-day average of new cases had risen to 692 on July 28.
Six days later, on Aug. 5, the governor was asked if Michigan residents could expect, before Labor Day, to see any changes to her restrictions, which included a ban on competitive sports. She replied: “Countries that have been successful have less than 25 [new cases] per million per day. We are well above that all across the state of Michigan right now, and that’s why it’s really important that we tighten up where we can.”
At the same press conference, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive, supported this approach: “What you want to see is not just a plateau, but also a decrease in cases. And if there is going to be a plateau, it’s a plateau that’s very low. So, ideally, we would want it to be under 10 cases per million people per day, and a trend that continues in that way.”
But on Sept. 3, after pleading from high school athletes and coaches and less than three weeks after the Michigan High School Athletic Association canceled its state tournament for football this fall, Whitmer issued Executive Order 176, which permitted competitive sports, including high school football. On that day, Michigan had a seven-day average of more than 46 cases per million, four times higher than the benchmark Khaldun mentioned and nearly double the target the governor identified for lifting existing restrictions.
This latest executive order justifies this policy change because the state’s “progress in suppressing [COVID-19] has plateaued.” It notes that cases “have continued to rise slightly,” with a seven-day rolling average of 745 new cases on Aug. 25. This is higher than the number the governor used on July 30 to justify closing all indoor bars and limiting social gatherings to 10.
Clearly, the decision to permit competitive sports was not based on the data.
Perhaps for this reason, Khaldun is recommending that people not play contact sports. While this seems to conflict with the governor’s decision, Khaldun explained her rationale to MLive.com: “(Whitmer) asked me to provide medical and public health guidance on what people should do. I said people should think for themselves and hopefully they understand, from a public health perspective, it’s probably not the safest decision to engage in contact sports.”
This is an abrupt change in the state’s strategy for dealing with COVID-19. For months, Whitmer and Khaldun seemed unabashed about determining what was safe for people to do and what was not. For a time, Michigan residents could golf, but not with golf carts. They could go boating, but not if the boat had a motor. Now they can dine indoors at a restaurant, but not if more than 70% of that restaurant’s revenue comes from alcohol.
With no change in any of the state’s “official risk levels” since Aug. 14, this shift in approach is hard to understand. After months of being told that the safety of all Michigan residents required strict adherence to detailed orders, we’re now told to do what we think is best.
But if it’s safe enough now to let people make up their own minds about participating in organized sports, why wasn’t it safe enough months ago, especially when Michigan’s case counts were lower? And if this choice is safe enough to leave to individuals, why could we not decide for ourselves about bowling or going to see a movie?
This sudden policy reversal forces Michigan residents, once again, to scramble and adjust their lives and schedules. And yet this is just the latest example of the governor’s confusing emergency orders. No matter how effective these orders turn out to be, the inconsistency and oscillations have made dealing with COVID-19 more difficult and more stressful than it needed to be.
Michael Van Beek is the director of research for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute in Midland. He joined the center in 2009 and is the author of several studies, including "A History of Michigan's Controversial 1945 Emergency Powers Law."
"Opinion" - Google News
September 10, 2020 at 10:05AM
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Opinion: Gov. Whitmer abandons data-driven COVID-19 policy for football orders - The Detroit News
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