Governor extends state of emergency

Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday extended the state of emergency that has been in place since March 10. The state of emergency was set to expire Friday, but will now last through at least August 11.

“COVID-19 has now killed more than 6,000 people in Michigan,” she said in a statement. “And the rising numbers we’ve seen over the past few weeks prove that this virus is still a very real threat in our state.”

New cases of COVID-19 have risen 245% over the past 30 days leading some health officials to call for a renewed focus on social distancing and mask wearing.

The state of emergency allows the governor to issue executive orders, such as last week’s order requiring people to wear masks in public.