North Michigan News

Rep. Jack O’Malley (R-Lake Ann) has announced that the recent testimony from top medical advisors to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reveals that the governor's response to COVID-19 is causing severe psychological problems for Michigan residents, according to Michigan House Republicans.

O’Malley, who is a member of the Joint Select Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic, highlighted the prolonged isolation and mandated closures of people’s livelihoods. According to experts, these lockdowns are causing psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicide.

“When I asked them about the psychological toll being taken on people as we go through this crisis -- a huge issue everybody is talking about -- they could not provide statistics in these areas or even a guesstimate,” O’Malley said, according to Michigan House Republicans.

“There obviously was no data being run to help them make an informed decision or get a clear picture. How can you properly diagnose our state if you don’t know the entire patient? That’s the issue that I have continued to see in these hearings. People are really hurting. They have been put out of work through no fault of their own. They have been unable, in many cases, to get needed unemployment benefits in a timely fashion to pay bills and support their families. They have been driven into a state of desperation and despair. I was hoping that there was an effort to carefully track these critical factors instead of a broad statement indicating they’ve thought about them," O'Malley told Michigan House Republicans.