Gov. Whitmer concerned about Michigan's increasing COVID-19 cases

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said Monday she's concerned about the recent growth in COVID-19 cases in the state and is urging everyone to continue to wash their hands and wear a mask.

Gov. Whitmer spoke with FOX 2's Roop Raj on Monday via Zoom and said the past few days of decreased case reports is a bit of a false positive.

"We know that, on the weekends, we tend to have fewer people going out and getting tested," she said. 

The governor is more concerned about the percentage of cases that are hospitalized for treatment.

"We've seen a little uptick, that won't translate into hospitalizations for another week or two," she said. "It's incumbent on all of us to do our part."

Gov. Whitmer had set July 4th as a hopeful date to move all of Michigan into the next phase of the MI Safe Start plan which would reopen gyms, theaters, and other business statewide. She announced a press conference Tuesday at 3 p.m. to give an update on COVID-19 in Michigan. You can watch it at fox2detroit.com/live

She says it's incumbent on all of us to do our part as the virus hasn't changed.

"When you do go out, be really smart, and be sure to wash your hands. This is how we can learn to live with COVID-19 and reengage and get our kids back in school in the fall," Whitmer said.

Gov. Whitmer said what made Michigan a model for success was we were aggressive and significantly slowed the spread of the virus. She said if we let our guard down, it could all be for naught. 

"By being aggressive here in Michigan on procurement, on policy, on keeping people home and safe, we were able to save thousands of lives. We'll never know who amongst us is still here because of how hard we pushed that curve down," she said.

As other states like Texas and Florida see huge numbers of new cases every day, Gov. Whitmer said this is different than when Michigan's numbers were high in April.

"We're in a much better position to track. People understand how serious the disease is so people are being smarter as well. Not that they weren't smart before but we know a lot more about this virus," Whitmer said. "It's still a novel virus and you think about the incredible amount of knowledge that we have about COVID-19 just in the last two months and how much more we could have two months from now."

Additionally, Gov. Whitmer said the politicizing of wearing a mask needs to end and said it was important when the Vice President is wearing a mask, as Mike Pence did this past weekend.

"I think it's really important that we take the politics out of the simple element of wearing a mask. If I told you I had a pill that everyone could take and it costs pennies and it would protect everyone from getting COVID-19 - that's what a mask does. It's a very cheap way that really brings down the chance of us communicating COVID-19 between one and other if we're both wearing a mask," she said.