Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (File photo)
Is a mask-mandate in the future for Michigan?
Not now, and maybe never, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday at a press conference in Detroit.
"I do not anticipate another pandemic order, not in the near future and maybe not ever," Whitmer said, according to The Detroit News. "The fact of the matter is we now know a lot more about this virus. We have vaccines."
Whitmer's remarks come after the Centers for Disease Control issued an advisory urging teachers, staff and children at K-12 schools to wear masks this fall regardless if they're vaccinated.
It also advises people to wear masks indoors, even if vaccinated, if they live in an area with "high" or "substantial" Covid transmission rates. That applies to 10 counties in Michigan: Hillsdale, Branch, Cass, Van Buren, Mason, Alpena, Kalkaska, Dickinson, Iron and Gogebic.
Overall, Michigan numbers have not blown up of late, compared to states like Florida, which has about 10,000 new cases a day. Michigan reported an average of 441 new cases per day from Saturday-Tuesday and a total of 19 deaths over the four-day stretch.
