LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday compared the deprivation ordered in the fight against the coronavirus to wartime sacrifices, criticizing protesters who flocked to the Michigan Capitol to denounce her weekslong restrictions against work and gatherings.
“President Trump called this a war and it is exactly that. So let’s act like it,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said.
“In World War II, there weren’t people lining up at the Capitol to protest the fact that they had to drop everything they were doing and build planes or tanks or ration food,” the governor said. “They rolled up their sleeves and they got to work. … We are called to act again.”
Meanwhile, the state health department reported a daily rise in new coronavirus cases and COVID-19 deaths, but both were smaller than the new numbers disclosed Sunday. The number of people infected increased by 576 to 32,000, although many of them have long recovered, while deaths rose by 77 to 2,468.
They included a 5-year-old Detroit girl, Skylar Herbert, the youngest person to die in Michigan.
“We’re seeing a plateau in cases in most areas of the state,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s medical executive.
WHITMER VS. CRITICS
It was the second time that the governor publicly went after the thousands of protesters who drove and honked past the Capitol last Wednesday. About 150 stood on the Capitol grounds with signs that portrayed Whitmer as a dictator who has deprived them of a living with her stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns.
“Who among us wants to be that person that unwittingly brings this virus into their household? Who in this great state actually believes that they care more about Jet Skiing than saving the lives of the elderly or the vulnerable?” she said, referring to one of her prohibitions. “This action isn’t about our individual right to gather. It’s about our parents’ right to live.”
More than 1 million people in Michigan have filed unemployment claims. Whitmer said she’ll likely ease some restrictions by May 1. She also said she’s taking a 10% cut in her $159,300 salary.
BORDER CROSSINGS
The U.S. and Canada have extended restrictions on border crossings for another 30 days, limiting travel to health care workers, commercial trucks and others deemed essential.
More than 1,000 people from Canada work at hospitals in southeastern Michigan that have been hit hard by the coronavirus and COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
In Windsor, Ontario, Windsor Regional Hospital has banned its employees from also working at Detroit-area hospitals, Mayor Drew Dilkens told The Detroit News. They must choose one or the other to reduce the spread of the virus. Sault Area Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, has adopted similar restrictions.
• White reported from Detroit.
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