Gov. Gretchen Whitmer feels that the spike in COVID-19 cases over the last few months was due to Michigan residents not following guidance from MDHHS. | Facebook
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer feels that the spike in COVID-19 cases over the last few months was due to Michigan residents not following guidance from MDHHS. | Facebook
The trends and spikes in the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., and other countries, look fairly similar to what is being seen currently, according to Worldometer, a website that tracks the COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world.
This information is at odds with the stories that state leaders in Michigan and other communities have told their constituents, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cites Oct. 2 as the day the COVID-19 spike began. That date is the same date the Michigan Supreme Court declared her pandemic executive orders unlawful and unconstitutional.
Whitmer has implied that residents caused the spike by not following orders from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), referring to the ban on indoor dining for restaurants and bars, which began Nov. 18.
“That’s why these next three weeks are so crucial,” Whitmer said on Nov.19, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential. “We flattened the curve in the spring by listening to our public health and medical experts. We can do this again. You have the power to help us push this curve down. Every one of us has the power to make choices that will contribute to that. It’s going to take all of us working together.”
This message is blunted by the fact that the situation is similar in multiple areas. Those similarities raise questions about whether policy and individual behaviors can actually affect the spread of the novel coronavirus.
On Oct. 2, the date cited by Whitmer as the start of their recent spike in COVID-19 cases, other countries saw spikes as well. There were 2,124 cases in Canada on Oct. 2, and by Nov. 29, the tally of new cases had grown to 5,468. Canada also saw a similar spike-and-fall pattern to Michigan’s pattern. The number of cases increased in April, flattened in the summer and then skyrocketed again during the fall.
Similarly, on Oct. 2, Russia had 9,412 new COVID-19 cases, but by Nov. 29 it had 26,683. Italy added 2,498 new cases on Oct. 2, which grew to 20,647 on Nov. 29. The U.S. as a whole followed the same pattern, with 52,381 new COVID-19 cases on Oct. 2 and 144,727 on Nov. 29.
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