State Sen. Pete Lucido intends to introduce legislation that would clarify what exempts someone from the governor’s order that people wear a face mask while out in public.

Lucido’s office said the Republican Shelby Township senator intends to introduce the bill as early as July 22.

A recent executive order from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to require mask-wearing provides an exception for anyone who “Cannot medically tolerate a face covering.”

Lucido’s office said the statement is too vague and offers no guidance to businesses on how to deal with people who claim they have a medical condition that exempts them from the mandate.

KSAV-TV in Phoenix, Arizona, ran a story about hospitals and counties in Arizona and Texas moving to acquire refrigerated trucks because morgues have or will soon reach capacity.

The story said: “A long-expected upturn in U.S. COVID-19 deaths across the U.S. has begun, driven by fatalities in states in the South and West.”

On July 13, there were 465 total deaths in the U.S. linked to COVID-19. On July 12, there were 380, according to WorldoMeters.info.

By comparison, on April 27, the U.S. experienced 2,749 coronavirus deaths, the most of any day.

The rationale when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer imposed a coronavirus epidemic “stay-at-home” order on March 23 was that it’s “the only tool that we have to fight it at the moment and to support our healthcare system to respond is to give them the opportunity by buying some time.”

According to state of Michigan data, there were 543 people in state hospitals with COVID-19 as of July 13. By comparison, on April 27 there were 2,974 COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

There were 127 Michigan deaths linked to COVID-19 in the first 13 days of July. That's just under 10 coronavirus deaths a day.

By comparison, the state’s highest single-day loss during the epidemic was 232 dead from COVID-19 on April 21.

Hospital bed occupancy rates in Michigan were at 68% as of July 13, according to the state of Michigan.

In 1980, the bed occupancy rate on average was 78%. The rate fluctuates from year to year. It was between 65 and 66 percent in 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On July 10, Whitmer expanded a statewide face mask mandate to include all indoor public places and outdoors when social distancing isn't possible.