Gov. Whitmer news conference Aug. 19 on CARES Act Funding for Mich. schools
(FOX 2) - On Wednesday, August 19 Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held a press conference in which she announced $65 million in CARES Act funding for Michigan schools.
Among the groups receiving money will be the state's poorest districts that lack the technological infrastructure needed to teach remotely. You can read more about the funding here.
Gov. Whitmer's news conference comes as Michigan legislators gave final approval Monday to bills that would provide flexibility for K-12 schools as they prepare to open amid the coronavirus pandemic, waiving physical attendance and minimum instruction requirements to allow for remote classes.
The legislation, which Gov. Whitmer will sign, would give districts and charter schools the option to choose in-person instruction, online or a hybrid based on consulting with local health departments. Their student count, the foundation of state funding, would be weighted heavily toward last year's figure and less so on uncertain enrollment in the new academic year.
The measures were passed on 77-33, 77-29 and 81-25 bipartisan votes in the GOP-controlled House two days after clearing the Republican-led Senate following a deal with the Democratic governor.
The bills would revise how attendance is linked to funding. Currently, districts must have 75% average daily attendance to get their full state aid. Instead, schools would have to make sure there are two-way interactions between 75% of students and their teachers.
Districts also would have to administer a benchmark assessment to K-8 students twice, including once in the first nine weeks.
The state's Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun also gave more context to the COVID-19 case numbers during the news conference.
CASES PER MILLION PEOPLE PER DAY
As in previous weeks, Dr. Khaldun highlighted the different regions in Michigan and where each is at in terms of cases.
The Detroit region has the highest case rate, 61 cases per million people per day. But as she mentioned last week, the case rate is largely driven by counties outside of Detroit. Last week she said Wayne, Monroe and Oakland counties had over 40 cases per million people per day with a percent positive rate over 4%. And Macomb County had the highest - 82 cases per million people per day with a percent positive rate of 7.4%. Dr. Khaldun has said a 3% positive rate is the cut-off that's been determined to show that community spread isn't happening.
The Saginaw region is at 54 cases per million people per day and has seen a slight increase over the past week.
The Kalamazoo region is at about 50 cases per million people per daY and has been declining over the past two weeks.
The Upper Peninsula is at 47 cases per million people per day and has seen a slight decrease over the past week.
The Grand Rapids region is at 34 cases per million people per day with a slight decrease over the past two weeks.
The Traverse City, Jackson and Lansing regions are at 20-30 cases per million people per day, with the Jackson and Lansing regions seeing decreases over the past 2-3 weeks. Traverse City has seen a slight increase.
Information from Gov. Whitmer's 8/19 news conference
TESTING AND PERCENT POSITIVE
Testing continues to look good. Dr. Khaldun says the 7-day average for testing in Michigan right now is 28,000 tests per day, which means over 2% of Michigan's population is being tested per week, which is the goal.
She said the percent positive overall in Michigan right now is at 3.3%.
Information from Gov. Whitmer's 8/19 news conference
CONTACT TRACING
Authorities are still urging everyone to answer their phones if you get a call from the health department. Text messages are also now being sent in advance of the incoming call.
Talking with the health department helps track where others may have been exposed to the virus.
Meanwhile, everyone is also still reminded to keep doing the basics to stay healthy - wear a mask, wash your hands and keep your distance from other people.