Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration will be announcing a plan for loosening restrictions on business, activities and travel in Michigan later this week. But she warned some form of a stay-at-home order will likely have to remain in effect past the end of the month as the state continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Wednesday, Michigan has had 33,966 total COVID-19 cases and 2,813 total deaths. While Michigan had the third-most cases in the country earlier in the month, it has dropped to seventh-most as of Wednesday morning, behind New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

During a Wednesday news briefing, Whitmer said the latest data on COVID-19 in Michigan has led her to believe "it’s time to reevaluate” the stay-at-home order Michigan currently remains under, through April 30.

But loosening certain restrictions too fast could lead to a second peak in cases, similar to what’s happening in other countries dealing with COVID-19 and during the 1918 flu pandemic, she said.

“I want to be clear: We will likely need another short-term extension of the Stay Home, Stay Safe order,” Whitmer said. “When we do start to reengage, it will have to be very thoughtful and precise ... but we will start to reengage, we will have a plan.”

Related: With 999 new confirmed coronavirus cases, Michigan nears 34,000

Marisa Eisenberg, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, presented hypothetical models at the news briefing of what could happen if the state lifts social distancing measures immediately. She said models aren’t “crystal balls," but said they can help with planning and noted they will improve as testing is increased throughout the state.

Whitmer noted people who are the most vulnerable to COVID-19 will likely still need to stay home even after the number of cases stabilizes, and said the economy will have to reopen in “waves” as the immediate crisis passes.

“As hard as this is right now, a second wave would be devastating, so when I say I’m hoping to loosen some restrictions, I mean that I’ll only loosen them based on what the facts and data are telling us when it is safe and how it is safe to do so,” Whitmer said.

Whitmer’s administration hasn’t yet laid out a specific plan as to what Michigan residents and businesses should expect past April 30, although Whitmer said she’ll be providing more information about how she intends to reopen the economy on Friday.

Her current stay-at-home order has drawn heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers, and thousands of people showed up in downtown Lansing last week to protest the order with a traffic jam and rally on the Michigan Capitol lawn.

A proposal from Senate Republicans released last week calls for a five-phase process for reopening the economy based on trends in the number of cases and hospital capacity, and allowing businesses with a low risk of spreading the disease to resume operations.

On Monday, House Republicans endorsed a plan that would set restrictions on gatherings, business and travel at the county level based on three tiers of risk for COVID-19 spread.

Earlier this week, Whitmer said strict adherence to the stay-at-home order increases the odds of loosening social distancing restrictions sooner.

“To those of you who want to get back to work as soon as possible, stay home,” she said Monday. “To those of you who made plans for June, July or August and want to see them through, stay home. What happens next depends on every single one of us.”

Whitmer spokesperson Tiffany Brown said the stay-at-home order does not require legislative authorization.

CORONAVIRUS PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Carry hand sanitizer with you, and use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and when you go into places like stores.

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Michiganders will still need to stay home unless they’re doing things that are explicitly permitted by the order. We’ve got to get this right. That’s the most important thing.

epidemiologists

in Southeast Michigan for example in places that have seen more cases, you know we have more data, it lets us do a little bit better at sort of restricting the range of what could happen. But in areas that have not seen as many cases so far, where the epidemic started later, and may still even be increasing. We have less data and because of that it ends up meaning that the range of potential second peaks, you know, is, is wider. And so, that’s just something to be aware of and it just means that those those regions may need more careful more monitoring, you know, because there’s a lot of uncertainty in terms of what could happen.

The other piece to note is that, you know, of course, as we move forward and get more data, and as testing continues to ramp up you know we’ll we’ll have more information, and we’ll be better able to see what scenario we’re in.

UM Epidemiologist Marisa Eisenberg, who is behind some of the modeling the governor’s office has relied on, is presenting certain hypotheticals if social distancing is lifted. “Models are very good tools for reasoning and planning, but they are not crystal balls,” she said.