It's hard to quantify exactly to what degree Michigan's COVID-19 restrictions have helped to slow the spread of the virus. | stock photo
It's hard to quantify exactly to what degree Michigan's COVID-19 restrictions have helped to slow the spread of the virus. | stock photo
Michigan has instituted several COVID-19 health orders that have helped slow the progress of the virus, but Bridge Michigan reported that they can't definitively say how much.
Bridge Michigan analyzed the data between Michigan and Ohio. Michigan currently has the lowest seven-day average of new daily cases per 1 million compared to the surrounding states. Robert Gordon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said there are states that have more restrictions and have seen bigger declines, but Republicans also point out that Michigan has the highest jobless rate in the region.
Gordon feels that the ban on indoor dining and other activities, such as movies and bowling, has helped to slow the spread of the virus.
Sen. Mike Shirkey
| #MiSenateGOP
“Michigan is clearly in the best position of any state in our region,” Gordon told Bridge Michigan. He said the "pause" is working.
Bridge Michigan notes that the two states with the current highest rates of infection are Tennessee and California, but these states have opposite restrictions. Tennessee has no mask mandate, no indoor dining ban and no bar ban, yet California has all three and is still overrun with the virus. Statistics like these cause people to question whether restrictions are actually bringing down case rates.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Lindsey Leininger, clinical professor of business administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, told Bridge Michigan. “To attribute cause and effect is a tough thing to do.”
Leininger said that limiting close contact between maskless people from different households reduces the spread of the virus, but she isn't sure about the impact of restrictions when it comes to indoor dining bans. She said those types of questions will be able to be answered in the future.
For now, Michigan Republicans continue to resist the calls to pass legislation allowing mask mandates.
“Use targeted actions. Fine-tuned messaging. Loud. Consistent. Informing, inspiring and encouraging,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) told Bridge Michigan. “No more blunt force instruments.”
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