Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hopes to relax some of the restrictions on Michigan businesses and residents next month, though she’s not ready to commit to it two weeks out.

Early Friday morning, April 17, the governor appeared virtually on Good Morning America where she was asked if Michigan aimed to relax some restrictions by May 1, similar to comments made by another Midwest governor.

"I do hope to have some relaxing come May 1 but it’s two weeks away and the information and the data and our ability to test is changing so rapidly, it’s hard to tell you precisely where we’ll be in a week from now much less two," Whitmer said.

"We are looking very carefully at making sure each decision we make is supported by the science, by the facts and is in the best interest of the people because that’s ultimately what matters to our ability to ramp up our economy again and avoid a second wave, which would be devastating.”

Michigan is under a state of emergency and Whitmer has signed several executive orders that have closed businesses and limited social gatherings in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the infectious respiratory virus that has sickened at least 29,263 residents, including 2,093 who have died.

During the Friday morning interview, Whitmer said Michigan has had to be really aggressive as the state with the third-highest number of deaths associated with COVID-19.

She said the Midwest states are banding together and sharing intelligence regionally, but that doesn’t mean each state will make the same decisions.

In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that some businesses in his state could reopen after May 1 as long as proper precautions are taken like social distancing, cleaning of surfaces, frequent hand-washing and mask wearing.

DeWine said the relaxing of Ohio’s stay-at-home order would be gradual, according to a report by the Associated Press. The state has reported more than 8,400 COVID-19 cases and 389 deaths since March 9.

Thursday evening, President Donald Trump announced guidelines on the three phases to re-open the economy. Asked how she intends to use the guidelines, Whitmer said most people agree re-opening needs to come in stages and testing is really important.

Pointing the to requirement that robust testing be in place for at-risk health care workers, the governor called it a shortcoming and said testing needs to be more widespread.

“We should be able to administer tests to anyone who has symptoms, ideally to people who are around people who have symptoms and in the best case scenario, just doing them broadly so we really get a handle on where COVID-19 is and where the threats are,” Whitmer said.

Whitmer was also asked about comments from a handful of Michigan sheriffs who have said the governor has overstepped her authority with her stay-at-home restrictions. She said four out of 83 sheriff’s have made that point and “that’s fine.”

“All I ask is let’s not get overly political here,” she continued. “Let’s focus on the public health. I’m the governor for almost 10 million people. I represent and want to protect every one of them whether they supported me politically or not, or they were even disengaged. That’s my job to protect the people of Michigan and that’s precisely what I’m doing with each of these orders.”

The governor went on to echo previous sentiments that each order has weighed heavily on her.

She knew closing non-essential businesses and limiting bars and restaurants to no dine-in services would result in layoffs. She knew closing schools would reduce education efforts for children and would take away meals that some families depended on.

“There’s a price that’s paid and I know there are a lot of businesses and people that are hurting right now,” Whitmer said. "But the fact of the matter is it’s better to be six feet apart right now than six feet under and that is the whole point of this.

“We’ve got to save lives. Every life matters.”

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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