Mich. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blames travelers for COVID-19 spike

Mich. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a drive-in campaign rally. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:30 PM PT – Sunday, April 18, 2021

The Governor of Michigan has blamed travelers for a growing number of coronavirus cases. On Sunday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) placed the blame on “snow birds” from Florida for the increasing number of coronavirus variant cases in the Great Lakes State.

In an attempt to stop the spread, Whitmer urged schools to go remote and businesses to have employees work from home for a week.

Gov. @GretchenWhitmer‘s COVID-19 Response:

# 1 in worst COVID-19 infection rate
Top 10 in highest COVID-19 death rate
Top 10 in most days locked down
Top 10 in most businesses closed

Gov. Whitmer doesn’t have a strategy. Michigan deserves better. #FireWhitmer https://t.co/Fe7oA8nYiu

— Michigan GOP (@MIGOP) April 18, 2021

“This variant, the B117 variant, is what is growing so quickly in Michigan,” Whitmer claimed. “We have the second most — I think — after Florida. Michigan and Florida are not next to each other, but this is the time of the year that snow birds come home from Florida where people are going on spring break and all of these things can contribute to spread.”

Her statement came after she asked for grace when a top staffer took heat for a recent vacation in Florida. Additionally, the state’s health director, Elizabeth Hertel, traveled to Alabama recently despite Whitmer’s calls to avoid out-of-state travel.

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