North Michigan News

According to Up North Live, the whole nation is watching Michigan. People are wondering when the governor will re-engage the economy after the stay-at-home order expires.

NBC News reported that Gov. Whitmer received backlash for her "strict" stay-at-home order. Because of this, House Republicans have unveiled a regional approach to get Michigan back to work.

Rep. Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) introduced the recent framework that will clear a path to reopen the economy. The plan is a three-tiered system, including the creation of a task force.

The new task force would decide which counties are eligible for reopening based on COVID-19 data, considering that each county has different numbers of people infected by the coronavirus. The tiers will be based on the rate of spread, positive testing, hospital admission rates, deaths and immunity rates.

Chatfield says that his constituents are worried about their futures. He added that the novel coronavirus has caused many negative changes in people's lives.

“The people I talk to are understandably worried about the future and the uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring for their families, friends and loved ones during this pandemic,” Chatfield told Up North Live. “Between health concerns, lost employment and changes to our very way of life, this is an unprecedented and unsettling situation for all of us. We need clear answers from our elected leaders about where we go from here and how our lives can go back to normal as safely as possible."

“We are all concerned about our health and safety during this crisis, and any plan put forward has to make that the top priority,” Chatfield told Up North Live. “But there are thousands of families across the state who also have to worry about how to pay their bills, take care of their children and keep up with payments on their homes, on top of everything else. The current one-size-fits-all approach isn’t working for them. We can do better.”