by:Rick Albin, WOODTV.com staff
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday said she’s still hoping to move all of Michigan into the next phase of reopening by July 4, though that’s not set in stone.
Whitmer said Tuesday that she would not move the rest of the state into phase 5 — “containing” — of the six-phase plan this week, which she had initially hoped to do. Northern Michigan is already in that phase, but the rest of the state remains in phase 4, “improving.”
Whitmer explained in a Wednesday call with News 8 political reporter Rick Albin, "We’re seeing some concerning increases in positive cases in different parts of our state,” so we’re going to continue to watch the data. We’re going to see what those positive rates are. We’re also going to understand the context, and that’s why the tracing is so important.”
Whitmer added that testing and contact tracing will allow health officials to determine whether they’re dealing with a contained outbreak or broad community spread, and that will inform the actions she takes.
More: WOODTV.COM