Mask wearing and lockdown orders are the most common ways states have tried to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. | Adobe Stock
Mask wearing and lockdown orders are the most common ways states have tried to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. | Adobe Stock
Michigan had several COVID-19 health orders instituted that have helped slow the progress of the virus, but Bridge Michigan reported that they can't definitively say by how much.
Robert Gordon, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director, says the ban on indoor dining and other activities, such as movies and bowling, has helped to slow the spread of the virus.
“Michigan is clearly in the best position of any state in our region,” Gordon told Bridge Michigan. He said the "pause" is working.
Sen. Mike Shirkey
| #MiSenateGOP
However, Bridge Michigan analyzed the data between Michigan and Ohio. The state currently has the lowest seven-day average of new daily cases per million compared to surrounding states. Gordon said there are states that have more restrictions and bigger declines in cases, but Republicans also point out that Michigan has the highest jobless rate in the region.
The two states with the current highest rates of infection are Tennessee and California, but those states have opposite restrictions. Tennessee has no mask mandate, no indoor dining ban and no bar ban, whereas California has all three and is still overrun with the virus. Situations like these are why people question whether the restrictions are actually working in reducing community spread.
“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 several 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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