In June of 2020, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told an anti-police website that she supported the “spirit” of defunding the police.

However, the state budget Whitmer approved for that fiscal year authorized a 67% increase in total funding for the Michigan State Police according to the Senate Fiscal Agency,  thanks to a huge increase in federal money.

Total Michigan State Police revenue and spending rose from $780.0 million in 2018-19 to $1.30 billion in 2019-20, an increase of $522 million.

Federal dollars for the Michigan State Police rose from $100.6 million in 2018-19 to $753.3 million in 2019-20.

In the 2020-21 fiscal year that began October 1 total State Police budget will fall back into its previous range, with $738.1 million in spending approved by the governor and legislature. 

The Washtenaw County Health Department issued a stay-at-home order targeting University of Michigan undergraduate students living in on-campus, near-campus, or off-campus housing.

The county health department order acknowledges the increase in cases has not resulted in additional deaths.

“COVID-19 cases among 18-24 year-old persons, thus far in Washtenaw County, have not resulted in increased hospitalization or death rates,” the order stated.

Since June 1, the rolling seven-day average death rate for COVID-19 in Washtenaw County has registered at 0.0, according to the state of Michigan. Washtenaw County has seen three COVID-19 deaths since Aug. 15.

Under the stay-at-home order, undergraduate students are still able to attend classes, participate in athletic practices and go to work with employer approval.

The stay-at-home order only applies to undergraduate students. The University of Michigan had 31,266 undergrad students in fall 2019. But it also had 16,824 graduate students. Those students will not have to abide by the lockdown order.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer went on CNN earlier this month and said, "This virus doesn't care who you are."

A petition authored by prominent epidemiologists that advocates for children returning to school and an end to government COVID-19 lockdowns has garnered 550,159 signatures thus far, including 10,835 from medical and public health scientists and 30,105 from medical practitioners, according to its website.

The Great Barrington Declaration was launched Oct. 4 and saw the number of signatures more than doubling, in a single week, from the 239,479 it had on Oct. 12.

The website for the Great Barrington Declaration summarizes the statement this way: “As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection.”

The declaration itself states, in part: “The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk.”

It also states: “Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal. Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and staying home when sick should be practiced by everyone to reduce the herd immunity threshold. Schools and universities should be open for in-person teaching. Extracurricular activities, such as sports, should be resumed. Young low-risk adults should work normally, rather than from home. Restaurants and other businesses should open. Arts, music, sport and other cultural activities should resume. People who are more at risk may participate if they wish, while society as a whole enjoys the protection conferred upon the vulnerable by those who have built up herd immunity.”