Many small businesses in rural areas of Michigan have had to close due to COVID-19 restrictions. | Stock photo
Many small businesses in rural areas of Michigan have had to close due to COVID-19 restrictions. | Stock photo
Rep. Beau LaFave (R-Iron Mountain) recently decried the unequal way in which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is applying her unilateral power that she has claimed for the last five months.
In a recent executive order, Whitmer reinstituted restrictions that limit the number of indoor customers for establishments in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, while in the same order, reopening casinos in Detroit, according to the Michigan House Republicans website.
“Once again, Gov. Whitmer has gone all in on big businesses, only to flop on rural Michigan,” LaFave told Michigan House Republicans. “If our state’s COVID-19 response has actually been about the ‘science’ like the governor claims, she would be treating every industry -- regardless of their cash game -- fairly.”
Rep. Beau LaFave
| Michigan House Republicans
The counties of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb, which make up the Detroit Tri-County Area, currently account for approximately half of active COVID-19 cases recorded in Michigan, and more than two-thirds of COVID-19-related deaths overall, according to data compiled by The New York Times.
The Upper Peninsula has had a total of 950 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic more than five months ago, according to TV6, compared to an average of 925 cases per day in the Detroit area, as reported by The New York Times.
And the Upper Peninsula is also far from any situation that could overtax the health care system there, LaFave said.
“We have more tests available than people seeking to be tested,” LaFave told Michigan House Republicans. “Lastly, all hospitals have a three-week supply, or more, of PPE (personal protective equipment) stockpiled in case of an outbreak.”
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