Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Using Old Archaic Laws Dem Michigan Gov. Whitmer Reissues Mask Order and Gathering Limits Under New Authority
The Federalist Papers ^ | October 5, 2020 at 3:29pm | Steve Straub

Posted on 10/05/2020 7:37:38 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

After being smacked down by her state’s Supreme Court Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration dug up a bunch of old and archaic laws that they believe gives the state government authority to reissue mandates in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep the local population in perpetual lockdown.

The Director of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Robert Gordon wrote:

Today the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is issuing an epidemic order to sustain rules that have protected Michiganders’ lives for months: requiring masks, limiting gatherings, and safeguarding nursing homes. A divided Michigan Supreme Court struck down these requirements on Friday. Our order today flows from a legal authority not at issue in Friday’s case. It is important we stay the course we’ve been on. When it comes to defeating COVID-19, we’re all in this together.

The science is clear: wearing masks can reduce the chance of transmitting COVID by about 70%. Even with masks, transmission is likeliest when people are within 6 feet of each other for 15 minutes, especially indoors. The failure to take proper precautions can enable the disease to spread—whether in an East Lansing bar or at the White House.

When Michigan was hard hit by the virus in March, strong orders based on science played an integral part in our effective response. Michigan initially had the third most deaths per capita in the nation. Our response included firm requirements for individuals to stay home (March 23, strengthened April 9) and to wear masks (April 24). By June, cases had fallen dramatically, but they began to grow, partly due to outbreaks linked to bars. We responded by closing bars (July 1 and 29) and strengthening the requirements around masks (July 17). The curve flattened again.

(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalistpapers.org ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: gretchenwhitmer; michigan; robertgordon; whitmer; wretchedgretchen
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-53 last
To: rightwingcrazy; EEGator

Robert Gordon, Director, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, says that wearing masks can reduce the chance of transmitting COVID by about 70%. He’s got 4 links:

Scientific research - the Conclusions were “We detected an immediate and significant reversal in SARS-CoV-2 epidemic suppression after relaxation of social distancing measures across the U.S. Premature relaxation of social distancing measures undermined the country’s ability to control the disease burden associated with COVID-19.” Social distancing, nothing about masks here.

Linked mandates - The Introduction states “Our estimates imply that nationally implementing mandatory face masks for employees in public businesses on March 14th would have reduced the growth rate of cases and that of deaths by approximately 10 percentage points in late April. As shown in Figure 1, this leads to reductions of 21% and 34% in cumulative reported cases and deaths, respectively, by the end of May with 90 percent confidence intervals of [9, 32]% and [19, 47]%, which
roughly implies that 34 thousand lives could have been saved.”

This does not support Gordon’s 70% figure. Nor does it inform us on the effect as of now, as some of the lives saved by the end of May might have been lost after that. However, a reduction in deaths by 34% is a significant finding, if true.

The paper continues with “Whether wearing masks in public place should be mandatory or not has been one of the
most contested policy issues with health authorities of different countries providing contradictory recommendations. Reviewing evidence, Greenhalgh et al. (2020) recognize that there is no randomized controlled trial evidence for the effectiveness of face masks, but they state “indirect evidence exists to support the argument for the public wearing masks in the
Covid-19 pandemic.”

Reductions - The link says 25 to 40%, not 70%

COVID’s spread - Abstract has declines in the daily COVID growth rate ranging from 0.9 to 2.0% for periods ranging from 1 to 21 days. Nothing about a 70% reduction.

This was the first time I’ve seen anyone quote a figure for the reduction in transmission. Interestingly, the CDC website had nothing quantitative when I looked on September 30th.

Here’s a link to Gordon’s statement:
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-73970_71692-541432—,00.html


41 posted on 10/05/2020 9:31:11 PM PDT by Tymesup
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Biggirl

Vaccines are why you still have lockdowns.


42 posted on 10/05/2020 10:53:06 PM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Trump Girl Kit Cat

Herd immunity happens, every virus, every time. Its the nature of viral diseases.

Nobody has ever defeated a pandemic, ever, vaccine or not. But they have been creating and selling snake oil cures for sale as long as there have been “doctors”.

I would say flattening the curve was supposed to free up hospital beds, never to flatten the world economy, but it seems I was wrong.

Globsl domination turns out to be a far more serious virus than Covid, It will kill Billons. It does not attack the lungs. It attacks the stomach.


43 posted on 10/05/2020 11:05:46 PM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: Hypo2

” It’s all about the Personal Liberty...and the Constitution! “
LOL!
Our Founders were not fools.

The Constitution reflects the lessons of thousands of years of history.
“Personal liberty” is no where cited by our Founders.
But that doesn’t matter to idiots.


44 posted on 10/05/2020 11:16:44 PM PDT by mrsmith (US MEDIA: " Every 'White' cop is a criminal! And all the 'non-white' criminals saints!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: rightwingcrazy

THE Science! How dare you question The Science.


45 posted on 10/05/2020 11:43:03 PM PDT by FreedomNotSafety
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Trump Girl Kit Cat

“... the minute people go out the virus comes back...”

Sorry for the quibble but the virus could not have come back because it never left.

Most people are not getting this point. The virus will never be eradicated. It will circulate just like all the other viruses mankind has experienced or even yet to experience. That’s why the lockdowns were idiotic.


46 posted on 10/05/2020 11:48:08 PM PDT by FreedomNotSafety
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

Put her in stocks in the public square and throw rotten veggies at her.


47 posted on 10/06/2020 2:45:37 AM PDT by Joe Boucher ( Molon Labe' Baby, Molon Labe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: American in Israel

Anybody who is against vaccines are a “nutjob”.


48 posted on 10/06/2020 3:10:01 AM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Hieronymus

LOL! Forst thing I noticed. Old archaic laws are so much better than those new archaic laws, right?


49 posted on 10/06/2020 3:12:52 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (Disappointment is inevitable. Discouragement is a choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: EEGator

That’s so funny.


50 posted on 10/06/2020 3:15:21 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (Disappointment is inevitable. Discouragement is a choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

Courts do not seem to have any limiting effect on this b*tch.


51 posted on 10/06/2020 3:15:41 AM PDT by Lazamataz (The NYT commits acts of violence with their words.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Tymesup

Thanks. Those links are helpful, but if that’s all he’s got, the “science” is far from clear. The most promising is the “linked mandates” article. The summary hints at some useful conclusions, but again, we need to look at the data, the methodology, the basis of estimates to determine if they were justified. Furthermore, the study is retrospective (actions taken in April may be useless today); it refers to “employees”, not to the general public; it doesn’t compare “mandatory” to “voluntary”; it uses the weasel word “imply”. Etc, etc.

If I were a public decision maker, this article would incline me to encourage voluntary masking of employees at public businesses to see if it helps. That is, assuming, after reading the research carefully, I don’t conclude it’s full of crap. If the research were particularly compelling, I might even encourage mandatory masking of employees of public businesses, for a time, and, after a time, see if it made any difference. And I’d carefully define what an effective mask was. I wouldn’t conclude “everyone must wear masks at all times under penalty of law, civil liberties be damned; the science is clear”.


52 posted on 10/06/2020 6:51:07 AM PDT by rightwingcrazy (;-,)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: rightwingcrazy

I agree, the science is far from clear.

It would be hard to design a good study for the effectiveness of masks. The patients and investigators would know whether a mask was being worn, for instance, so no double blind there. It would be difficult to find volunteers to be exposed to the virus, with or without a mask.

I think there have been macro studies on the effect of masks. I think the results have been on both sides of the issue.

It’s disturbing that policy makers have not considered the negative effects of masks. It’s disturbing that legislators aren’t involved in the process (although it looks a hot potato to them).

This article was interesting because it was the first time I saw numbers on the reduction in transmission. Too bad the numbers look like they were made up.


53 posted on 10/06/2020 2:33:07 PM PDT by Tymesup
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-53 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson