Thursday Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned of the consequences of the state staying on the trajectory it is currently on where COVID-19 cases are increasing exponentially. She says hospitals are burning through PPE. She says that "if we don't get our act together" we'll hit a new daily peak of deaths at Christmas.
She says the current death rates in the U.S. are the equivalent of ten 737 planes crashing to the ground every single day or a 9/11 happening every three days.
"You might survive, you might not, that's the scary thing about COVID-19," Whitmer said.
"Tihs is the worst week of COVID we've ever had," she added.
Whitmer says more nurses and healthcare professional are getting sick. She said earlier in the day leaders of Michigan's large hospital systems indicated that COVID-19 hospitalizations are up five-fold in the last five weeks. She says the patient count is expected to double in the next two weeks.
With Thanksgiving on the horizon, Whitmer reiterated that people should not host a holiday gathering with guests from outside their household. She suggests people make a plan for the day and organize a Zoom call, share photos or videos.
The state's Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said, "Things are looking very grim."
The latest daily case count in Michigan is 7,811. The state has a 10.8% positivity rate for COVID-19 testing. The state's 7-day average for deaths is 1,535 which is seven times what it was back in June.
Khaldun says that testing and contact tracing is taking longer because of the increase in cases. Whitmer added that "we are overwhelmed."
"We are looking at the deadliest, most grim days ahead of us," Khaldun emphasized again.
