Gretchen Whitmer Under Fire As Michigan Leads U.S. In New COVID Cases

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), who has become infamous for enacting some of the strictest COVID-19 measures in the country in her state, has found herself in hot water after it was revealed that as of Tuesday morning, Michigan is the national leader in the number of cases of coronavirus by population.

Michigan Leads Nation In COVID Numbers

The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data stated that Michigan is averaging more than 452 cases per 100,000 residents over the last seven days. On top of that, seven out of the ten cities on The New York Times‘ list of top 10 cities where the worst outbreaks are taking place are located in Michigan.

Republicans in Michigan have long taken issue with Whitmer’s handling of COVID-19, including both her controversial nursing home policies and her strict lockdown orders.

“Despite Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s onerous lockdown policies and draconian shutdown orders, Michigan is still leading the nation in new COVID-19 cases,” Ted Goodman, communications director for the Michigan Republican Party, told Fox News.

“From the start of this pandemic, Whitmer has been more focused on the political science rather than the actual science, which is why Michigan is seeing an increase, compared to most of the country, where numbers are falling,” he added.

Backlash Continues For Whitmer

Republican Governors Association spokesperson Chris Gustafson also spoke out against Whitmer, saying that she has been “asleep at the wheel” throughout this entire pandemic.

“Gretchen Whitmer is asleep at the wheel while COVID-19 rages on in Michigan,” Gustafson said in a statement. “Whether it’s cutting hush money checks, instituting deadly Andrew Cuomo-inspired nursing home policies, or hiding from her constituents, Michiganders deserve better leadership than Gretchen Whitmer.”

Whitmer declined to respond when asked for comment on the latest stats in her state by Fox.

This comes a month after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel controversially refused a request by state Republicans to launch a probe into Whitmer’s infamous nursing home policies that led to many deaths.

“I appreciate that you and your colleagues have policy disagreements with Gov. Whitmer’s response to COVID-19,” Nessel wrote in response to Republicans. “But an investigation by my office is not the mechanism to resolve those disagreements.”

This piece was written by James Samson on April 6, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.