State Rep. Pauline Wendzel is back at it on the legislative trail working to find a common-sense, safety-based approach to reopening the economy in COVID-19 era.
House Republicans today unveiled a blueprint to help move the state toward a rolling restart — an approach based on the prevalence and risk factors of the virus, which varies by region. A task force would be established to determine which counties could have some COVID-19 restrictions eased more quickly, getting more people back to work and more facets of everyday life – when it’s safe.
Rep. Wendzel said she supports a regional, safety-focused approach to restarting Michigan’s economy and re-establishing a semblance of normalcy in the COVID-19 era.
The Watervliet State Rep. says, “The health of the people of my community is my top concern, and it should be everyone’s top concern,” and adds, “With this proposal, we can protect public health and our economic health at the same time. I believe this blueprint presents a clear path forward that will lead our state back to some semblance of normalcy.”
Rep. Wendzel continued, “With the curve flattening and cases dropping in some areas of our state, it’s time to start looking more closely at what comes next. Every county is not the same when it comes to this virus, and every county should not be treated the same. It’s time to move toward a safe restart, and some areas of the state will be ahead of others based on those health and safety factors.”
A task force – including representatives from Gov. Whitmer’s administration, the Legislature and outside groups – would place counties into one of three tiers based on coronavirus activity and other factors such as hospitalization rates and capacity. Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties – which have the vast majority of COVID-19 cases in the state – would be in the tier with strictest restrictions. Other counties would be placed in tiers with fewer restrictions.
The same task force would help determine which jobs and activities could be resumed safely, starting from the premise of federal CISA guidelines which in some cases are not as restrictive as the prohibitions now in place in Michigan. The task force would make frequent recommendations to the governor to reflect changes in coronavirus activity.
Wendzel says today, “This is not an effort to replace the governor’s executive orders with ones of our own making – this is an invitation to work together to establish the best way forward for Berrien County and all of Michigan,” and concludes, “It starts from a premise of what can be done safely without compromising public health. We can take these steps together and fight this virus with a safe and common-sense approach.”
