Whitmer i want to acknowledge the passing of a representative. He had a big heart and a moral compass that drove all the work he did on behalf of the people he represented, and his passing is a day of sadness that i think everyone around the capital and certainly the district are feeling. Press conference on thursday, President Trump approved my request for a major disaster declaration. The declaration means that michigan is now eligible for participation in the federal Emergency Management agency fema, to provide loot relief for michiganers impacted by covid19 and measures to slow the spread of the virus. This is helpful, a good thing for our state. Im hopeful that the president will review my request for individual assistance programs to provide meals to families who need them and rental assistance and temporary housing for families. I look forward to the federal governments continued partnership, and we are grateful for the things that have happened over the course of the last few days to help us fight this virus. Truly grateful. I sent a letter to the united defense,cretary of mark esper, professing that the department of defense directive fema to support michigans request to use the Michigan National guard for humanitarian the u. S. And to use army corps of engineers to help construct temporary hospitals. Over the weekend, we received a masksnt of 112,000 n95 from the Strategic National stockpile, with another 8000 on the way. Again, this is good news, but we still need more. We know that a hospital, one hospital in the detroit area, will go through 10,000 of these masks in a day. This isis a helpful helpful in this moment, but we have a much greater need that we need to be part of making sure we meet. I want to acknowledge a few more businesses that have stepped up them and a number have, but production of masks and face shields for nurses and doctors. The dedicated and boy is that they have are manufacturing hand sanitizer. A number of executive orders in the past couple of days, including orders that tax deadlinesome through july of 2020. We have also expanded absentee voting and established a 2 million Water Restart Grant Program and access to clean water. To successfully deploy qualified physician assistants, nurses, and other Health Care Providers to combat covid19. I signed two executives directives temporarily restricting Discretionary Spending by our state department and agencies, and temporarily suspending hiring, the creating of new physician filling vacant positions, transfers, between the executive branch of the state government. We are doing our part. I signed an agreement between the Us Department of labor for pandemic assistance to grant benefits to workers who do not already qualify for unemployment benefits. Include thes selfemployed, 1099 independent contractors, and lowwage workers who can no longer work because of the pandemic. Includes weekly benefits for all unemployed workers by 600 and extends benefit payments from 2639 weeks. I excepted the recommendation of the u. S. Army corps of engineers, the detroit district for an alternative care facility in the city of this space will have 900 bed spaces, approximately. We have a few more upgraded updated numbers. Confirmed cases, 132 deaths. We will not see the benefit of these aggressive efforts for little while. That is why it is important that everyone continues to do their part. It is important to pause and each of these had stories and families and friends and loved ones, people we need to think about as we are that isg a pandemic hurting our state and our people. Cannot lose sight of that. Over the weekend, a new. Olunteer website was launched, Trained Medical professionals can register to serve fellow michigan residents. We expect a great need for additional medical support in the coming days. Please sign up now. State residents can also use the site to find out how they can help in local communities. How they can connect to give blood or needed medical supplies. We have seen an incredible amount of strength and courage. During this hard time of uncertainty, whether it is from communities donating food, money, and resources to those that needed, or from businesses using technology to manufacture personal protective equipment. Ofs is to slow the spread covid19 in our state come we must all work together. Whether you are a medical professional looking to volunteer, or someone who can give blood or donate to the local food bank, everyone can help out. The numbers rise, do not think it does not mean your participation and youre staying in home isnt having an impact. It is and it will. I also signed two supplemental budgets that reprioritize funding to stop the spread of covid19. My administration and the legislative leaders. Key priorities from both sides were included in the bill. We must react and change along with the changes since those negotiations. The legislative leaders who engaged and agreed that due to the incredible toll that covid19 has taken on health, families, and the economy is, that it was important iv to a number of items to save taxpayer dollars. It is to early to determine the andt input in fact knowing that there is potential for significant loss in revenue, now is not the time to sign a bill for supplement of funding for anything for dollars that can be utilized to help the covid19 response. I want to thank legislative leaders, the Senate Majority leader, the Senate Democratic leader, the house speaker, and the House Democratic leader. I am grateful for their partnership during this tough time. With this action, we are committing 150 million to combat covid19. The state has already expended more than 800 million to begin securing more than 20 million masks, 2000 ventilators, 9 million ounces of hand sanitizer. 250,000 boxes of gloves, more than 2000 beds, more than 110,000 testing kids 22,00085,000 curtains of disinfectant wipes, as well as other needed supplies. They willhope that all reflect and require. Getting through the crisis requires all hands on deck. An unprecedented way to fight an unprecedented enemy, covid19. I am proud of the leadership of our team. People across this state are stepping up during a car a time of crisis. All whileng her time social distancing. Lisa is taking care of her 90yearold mother for neighbors and health care workers. Paul is working from home and maintaining phone and internet services. Marie is working with the church to deliver food to families in need. Courtney is a teacher using zoom to stay connected to students. The coming days will be unlike any challenge we have ever had before. It will require fortitude, strength, and grace. Our frontline care workers need more support. Need more beds and care. The unemployed need more help. The businesses need more information. People in michigan are strong, smart, and determined people. We have always looked to one another. The matter how you identify, your age, risk factors, social economic status. Your health and safety matters. We are fighting for you. We will get this together so long as everyone does their part. I will turn over to our chief medical executive. Thank you, governor. Hear aboutned to this yesterday and my deepest condolences go out to the family. As the governor mentioned, covid19 continues to spread rapidly in michigan. Cases as of 5486 yesterday. We saw an increase of over 1800 cases in just two days. We also know that 100 32 we are still in the early stages of spread and cases have not yet eat. Hard to develop the best predictive model to tell us how the disease spreads in our state. We are likely several weeks away from a peak in the number of cases in michigan. The goal of our response has been to slow the spread of the disease as much as possible, particularly so we protect our most foldable and we do not overwhelm our hospitals. Several hospitals in this state, particularly southeast michigan, are at capacity. Implementing hospital plans and we are pleased leaders have stepped up in support of our Public Health response. Based on the trajectory of the disease and the number of people requiring hospitalizations, we need to derive alternative nontraditional sites of care. We have already identified the center in detroit and plans are already underway at that facility to be able to take care of covid19. We will need additional medical nurses,onals, doctors, and others, to respond to this crisis. Yesterday, the governor signed an executive order. This important order will allow qualified professionals to work in medical facilities to help take care of the increased patient load. This past weekend, we announced a new volunteer website. We encourage medical professionals willing and able to sign up. We are truly going to need everyone to chip in and donate skills and expertise to fight this pandemic. Expandinue to rapidly testing in this state. We continue at least a thousand tests between state labs, hospitals, and private laboratories. The broader testing of us get a better understanding of where this disease is. We are expanding hospital capacity, getting more medical professionals to help and expand testing, most important thing we can all do right now is hed the governors executive order to stay home and stay safe. No one is immune to this disease. Young people in their 20s, their 30s, and the 40s are getting sick. People are unexpectedly dying. Everyone needs to stay home and less they actually must leave their house for food, medicine, or to perform a critical function. Not be outside playing with their neighbors and people should not be playing with each other in parks. People should not leave their homes to buy things that are not essential. This is not the time to have extended family gatherings. People must stay home. It would do the right thing and do it now, we will keep people from getting sick and we will save lives. I will turn it over to the governor. It to happy to open questions for the press. I think that the president s actions are warranted by the science. We are continually evaluating data and information as we know it. I would anticipate that we will to have expansion. Im not prepared to announce what the moment. We are seriously about what the plans will be to meet the Educational Needs of students. Another presspate conference on the subject. I will just observe really quickly that without robust evidence toe draw conclusions. It is a challenge. It is ramping up. New york has been ahead of us iteris of confronting covid19. What were seeing as a result of strict guidelines in the orders in terms of social distancing. Now, are looking at right we know this will peak or window it is notill get it, true right now. We think it will be several weeks. We know the hospitals will need more beds. Thousands more ventilators and a lot of people will get sick. Were trying to expand our testing as much as possible. [inaudible] we have about 1700 ventilators right now. So there is no question we will need an additional 5000 to 10,000 ventilators and in tracheal tubes or other medical supplies. Everytimate says that for be 10as covid19, it will to 95 masks just that they for one patient. A thing people should withiarize themselves regulation. Information. We want to ensure the doctors have the ability to prescribe be sure thates and people who have these prescriptions have access to the medications they need. Is of the work we have done trying to strike the balance so that people have the medications prior to 19 will have access to the jugs they need. [inaudible] i think they should look at the most recent guidance. And familiarize themselves with that. We obviously want them to be nimble in this crisis. I think we have a duty to be are educated policies reflecting the needs of the people of our state. We are continually updating and adjusting, as we need to. No one could predict we would be in this position a week ago. We cannot predict precisely where we will be and were working hard to flatten the curve. Ramifications. As we wanted it to be clear what we were doing and why. I have gotten a lot of positive from the medical society and individual doctors in regards to our policy on that front. They agree that given the proper guidance so that educated decisions can be made that are supported by the science and are protective of patients who require those drugs and required them precovid19. We know that will be a Pressure Point and that is why we have called out to people who are perhaps retired from the medical field who consider coming back. We made it easier for people to join the front lines. All of these are pieces of the problem we know will exist in have gotmaking sure we First Responders and frontline medical professionals to do the work. There is no question that we do not have enough right now. Also we will be looking across this state for medical professionals working in areas that might not be as hardhit right now and perhaps volunteer as well. [inaudible] it depends. Right now, some hospitals expect patients excepting with covid19 and others are not. We are currently planning. Start developing, is there a system [inaudible] there is a shortage of acute care physicians. Nurses. Rtainly [inaudible] the system is overwhelmed. Other states have gone down. For a while, it is cumbersome. We are asking people to be patient. Were working incredibly hard. We have, by executive order, loosened up some of the rules around how to go about filing unemployment, what the timing was like, to make it easier for people to file. Recognizing the hurdles that are there and trying to level them so it is evil you easy for folks. Were working with director washington. Encouraging local facilities to consider doing exactly what you and i towards a possibility of that and working to beirector washington sure we have a thoughtful process that does not compromise Public Safety and recognizes the challenges we have because of covid19. [inaudible] were trying to encourage voting by mail, voting from home. To safest place for people be right now is at home. For the foreseeable future, that is a fact we have to grapple with. Cannot sacrifice core democratic principles. We need to figure out how to be theireople can exercise right to vote and do it in a safe manner. By twove is motivated goals. We will make additional improvements where they where we can. Covid19 and the increase is continuing right now through michigan. [inaudible] i have talked to everybody. Im on the phone with the from the army corps of engineers. Grateful for the work we are doing. I think my experience is not unlike governors and mayors across the country who are trying to procure as much personal claim as we can. We are hopeful that with all of , come to fruition. Our experience is that other things have been diverted to the federal government. As has been the case in massachusetts, illinois, kentucky. You have heard the governors say the same things i have. We will scrap as much as we can. Were trying to mobilize michiganders and warehouses to donate. ,e need all the help we can get to michiganders who are stepping up to help out. [inaudible] at this point, i have issued executive directives to shore up spending in our departments. We have a lot of essential services we have got to continue to meet the needs of our people. Where there are unplanned expenditures or additional operations, we will stop that. We have got to be conservative right now. We know that the tool covid19 will take on the ability to meet the needs of people will be real and in the budget. Weve had great effective conversations with legislative leadership in the aisle. Respect toealthy meet those challenges. We are having the conversation internally right now. The fewer people out and about, the better, as we see, our covid19 challenge is continuing to climb every day. How i amhe core of looking at these issues, given by the best medical advice. Thanks. If you missed any live coverage to the government response coronavirus outbreak. Watch any at cspan. Org. From daily briefings by the president and the White House Task force, two updates from governors of hardest hit states, it is all there. Use charts and maps to track the viruss global spread. County by county. Our coronavirus website webpage is your easy way to watch cspans is unfiltered coverage of the pandemic. We will bring you more news briefings later today. Talk aboutwards will the increase of coronavirus cases in new orleans and around this state. Later today, the White House Coronavirus task force headed by mike pence will hold a news conference. That is scheduled for 5 00 eastern. Live coverage on cspan and a reminder that you can follow our coverage online or listen with the free cspan radio app. Us on washington journal host joining us now is dr. Jon andrus who is an adjunct professor of Global Health at George Washington university. Your take on the president s announcement yesterday after the grim forecast, president is extending the social distancing limits until the end of april. What do you make of that move . I think thats excellent. I think the evidence has to be in the drivers seat and i have to commend him for taking that action. Host let me show you the Johns Hopkins statistics that are out there. Total confirmed cases around the world approaching 750,000. Total deaths approaching 35,000. We have been reviewing the u. S. Numbers this morning. The numberssee in and recent trends and other news from recent days. Put this in perspective for us. When i personally try to put this in perspective i think about my 35 years working in Global Health and there are two events that i think i use personally as touchstones in dealing with this current crisis. One is india. I worked in the 1990s in india and saw firsthand in 1994 how the ague crisis brought the country to its knees. It was mismanaged. There was miscommunication. Fear was created. A reactive mode that started. And so the country shut down. It lost millions if not billions of dollars in tourist revenue. But the Indian Government learned from it. They implemented
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