Michigan Gov. Whitmer Plans To Extend State Of Emergency

MICHIGAN — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will extend Michigan's state of emergency, which is set to expire Friday, through July. Whitmer made the announcement Wednesday, during a news conference in which she also informed Michiganders there will be some form of in-person education for students in the Fall.

The governor said most states have continued to work under states of emergency during the coronavirus crisis, and noted that attempts to remove her authority to extend such statuses are "irresponsible."

"Let's be clear, this crisis is not over," Whitmer said during a news conference Wednesday. "COVID-19 is still very present in Michigan, and if we drop our guard, we'll end up on the map the way that those other states are (with second waves of cases reported), so we've got to stay disciplined."

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Michigan has been trending in the right direction with its coronavirus cases. On Wednesday, the state reported 204 new cases of the virus and two new deaths attributed to it.

As a whole, Michigan has been present to 60,393 confirmed cases and 5,792 confirmed deaths related to the coronavirus. State health officials have reported that there are an additional 6,104 cases and 244 deaths that are probably the coronavirus.

By declaring a state of emergency, a governor can make statewide orders without nearly as much action.

Related: Whitmer Announces Next Steps For Michigan Schools

Some Republican legislators have worked to challenge Whitmer's executive powers more than once, at once point going so far as to fire a lawsuit against the governor, seeking to make it so she would need legislature approval to extend the state of emergency.

"Any attempt to strip away the powers of the governor during this crisis is irresponsible, dangerous and foolish," Whitmer said.

Whitmer previously said aggressive actions taken by her administration have been successful in lowering the number of coronavius deaths in Michigan.

According to data provided by the World Health Organization, the state's numbers have dropped dramatically. After ranking as high as third in the nation in coronavirus cases and deaths, Michigan currently has dropped down to ninth in cases and sixth in deaths.

Related: Aggressive Actions To Stop Coronavirus Spread Worked: Whitmer