Whitmer Urges Back To Virtual Classes, No Sports As Covid Returns

Dave BensonPublished: April 9, 2021

DETROIT, MI - APRIL 06: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer receives a dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine at Ford Field during an event to promote and encourage Michigan residents to get the vaccine on April 6, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. As the US reaches a milestone in vaccinations, a surge of new Covid-19 cases has swept through the US with Michigan seeing the highest numbers of new cases. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)

While not making it mandatory, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is "strongly urging" that high schools return to virtual learning immediately, that kids sports be put on hold temporarily (two weeks), and that Michiganders only eat at restaurants with outdoor seating, for the time being, as Michigan leads the country with this latest Covid and variant spike.

"To be very clear, these are not orders, mandates or requirements," Whitmer said of her requests to schools, athletes and restaurants. "A year in, we all know what works and this has to be a team effort. We have to do this together. Lives depend on it." - Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer via the Detroit News.

The virtual learning request is a non-issue with Kalamazoo Public Schools, which has opted to stay virtual for the remainder of the school year and is the only school district in Kalamazoo County to do so.

The sports pause comes as a lawsuit has been filed to cut mandatory testing amongst athletes.

The dining question is a difficult one, with legitimate arguments on both sides. However, Bell's Eccentric Cafe made their decision soon after the governor spoke.

Following this morning’s comments from Governor Whitmer regarding the rise of COVID-19 cases in Michigan, we are following her recommendation to suspend indoor dining for at least the next two weeks. The Eccentric Café will continue to serve beer and food outside in the Beer Garden, and we will reevaluate opening indoor dining as conditions improve across the state. - Bell's Eccentric Cafe on Facebook

Interviewed on CNN earlier this week, Whitmer said the state's problem is not policy, but of people not complying with the existing policies and, of moving around and spreading germs.

Get our free mobile app

LOOK: The Most Famous Actor Born Every Year

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Filed Under: Coronavirus (COVID-19), michigan

Categories: Articles