Wednesday, April 8, 2020 — 3A
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
This decision has no impact on
Whitmer’s
stay-at-home
order,
which is still set to end April 14.
Whitmer told reporters after the
vote that the extension isn’t as long
as she hoped, but the legislature
can always extend it again at a later
date, according to the Detroit Free
Press. Whitmer said extending the
emergency declaration protects
the state from civil liability for
actions taken by first responders.
“We don’t agree on the length
of the emergency – the action they
took today,” Whitmer said. “That’s
their decision. They can come back
as much as they want to, even if it is
contrary to the best practices.”
State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann
Arbor, told The Daily he felt there
was no real purpose to the vote
as Whitmer had the executive
authority to legally extend the
declaration by 22 days.
“It was a voice vote to basically
extend by 23 days the governor’s
executive
order,”
Rabhi
said.
“There is some legal disagreement
about how much of an impact that
will actually have. The governor
pretty much has maintained that
she did not need the legislature
to convene, who extended her
authority that she already had
…
The
legislature’s
resolution
extends her powers until the 30th
… Which only really has the effect,
in the end, of giving her one extra
day.”
Rabhi said the legislature should
convene for measures that have a
more concrete effect.
“If we have to meet during this
crisis, we should be voting on items
that have a real impact,” Rabhi
said.
“There
were
alternative
resolutions offered today that
would
have
actually
had
a
substantive effect.”
Rabhi explained Whitmer has
been pulling her authority from
three laws: the Constitution, the
Emergency Powers of Governor
Act 302 of 1945 and the Emergency
Management Act 390 of 1976.
He noted the 1945 act does not
have time limitations, but the
1976 statute limits the governor’s
authority to an initial 28 days and
requires the legislature to vote to
extend it.
There is a legal disagreement
within the legislature, according
to Rabhi, because the two statutes
conflict with each other on the
length of the governor’s authority.
The
Emergency
Powers
of
Governor Act is in effect until the
governor declares the emergency
no longer exists.
“Combining,
essentially,
all
of that case law, you have the
situation
where
the
governor
took a broad approach in terms of
citations for her executive orders
that she could rely on, a number of
different statutes for the powers
that she has,” Rabhi said. “Again,
under the 1945 Emergency Powers
of the Governor Act, there is no
time limit. And so there is a legal
argument that can be made that
she could continue to exercise her
powers until the emergency has
expired, until the emergency is
deemed to be over by her.”
Rabhi said he felt Tuesday’s
meeting was political, as many of
Michigan’s Democratic members
wanted
to
grant
the
70-day
extension
Whitmer
wanted,
while the Republicans preferred a
shorter extension.
State
Sen.
Mike
Shirkey,
R-Clarklake, said in a statement
last week that while he does think
the emergency order should be
extended, 70 days was too much
time.
“We
agree
that
emergency
circumstances
persist
in
our
state and are prepared to support
an extension of the governor’s
emergency declaration, but feel
a 70-day extension is too long,”
Shirkey said.
Rabhi said he felt the legal
discussion
that
took
place
today for this vote will likely
be continued after this 23-day
extension is over.
“And
so
after
April
30,
essentially, starting May 1, there
could be a legal battle if the
legislature chooses to not to re-up
or extend her powers under the
emergency manager act, she could
still assert her authority through
the Emergency Powers of the
Governor Act,” Rabhi said. “... And
that’s sort of some of the things
that happened today. I would
describe it as a little bit more
theater, a little bit less substance.”
According to The Daily’s data,
which pulls from the Michigan
government, Michigan has 18,970
cases as of April 7.
Daily News Editor Emma Stein
can be reached at enstein@umich.
edu.
EMERGENCY
From Page 1A
“It is challenging to even get
tested,” Oppenheim said. “The
criteria are pretty rigid. People
have been denied getting tested
for a number of reasons. It is
hoped that it is going to change
any day now where easy, quick
testing will be available at the
health system. Hopefully, they
will have thousands of people so
that we can see the trajectory for
this.”
Michigan Medicine nurses at
high risk of contracting the virus
have struggled to obtain testing,
noting the difficulty of caring for
patients during a pandemic and
weighing the benefits of staying
home from work when there is
a shortage of qualified medical
professionals.
Oppenhiem also acknowledged
the need to monitor for symptoms,
especially
among
those
who
are on the front lines of this
pandemic.
“There’s no special treatment
for
anybody
about
testing,
health care providers, anybody
that works in the institution,
everybody is treated the same
based on symptoms,” Oppenhiem
said. “The only time you stay
home is if you are symptomatic,
so if you were exposed and are
completely asymptomatic, then
you’re just going to monitor your
temperature
and
continue
to
work.”
Symptoms
of
coronavirus
include fever, cough and shortness
of breath. People who think they
may have been exposed to the
virus should call their primary
care physician. Individuals can
also
contact
the
Washtenaw
County Health Department at
734-544-6700.
Reporter Brayden Hirsch can be
reached at braydenh@umich.edu.
HOSPITAL
From Page 1A
SHELTER
From Page 1A
“My mom is a health care
provider,” Alina Haque said. “So,
I am very passionate about trying
to help my local hospital collect
PPE. With the use of the hashtag,
I was able to connect with others
to make a team here to collate
PPE. We started calling places
to ask for donations. We are also
collecting thank-you cards and
notes from our community to
post in the staff entrance of the
hospital to help boost morale.”
Marina Haque acknowledged
the
health
risk
associated
with
these
efforts,
and
she
recommended
professional
oversight for anyone who wants to
initiate similar actions. She noted
the importance of including these
voices, as her group has done,
when planning to ensure they are
acting responsibly.
“Within
Students
Against
COVID,
we
strongly
believe
that
any
all
public
health
efforts or social services that
potentially pose a public health
risk (i.e. supplies rationing, food
distribution, etc) should be led by
or at least overseen by a certified
health professional or someone
capable of interpreting scientific
guidelines,” Marina Haque wrote.
“These are the messages that we
are trying to spread in our local
and global communities; that
yes, students can make incredible
contributions to society during
this time, but please do so
responsibly.”
SAC also aims to address the
mental health challenges COVID-
19 and social-distancing through
a 30-day self-care quarantine
challenge on social media.
“This brings in a sense of
community,”
Akhund
said.
“Everyone did something similar
today. They are as simple as
creating a playlist or cleaning up
your drawer and then sharing the
things they found or things they
were looking for. Just little things
that we put up to bring people
together.”
Alina Haque said SAC has
become a community for students
around the world.
“The message I would want to
give is that you are not alone,”
Alina Haque said. “Even though
we might be literally alone in our
own houses, you are not alone.
There are people who are going
through the same emotions and
the same experience.”
Matishova said that though the
pandemic has interrupted her
education, joining SAC has given
her a way to offer help and be
productive.
“I met a lot of people at the
start of the movement and as the
movement spread who wanted
to help people,” Matishova said.
“And it is really inspiring for me.
It’s also a really good thing that
I get to do something, because
I am in quarantine, and I can’t
work with my patients. And this
way I can still help my friends, my
family and my colleagues to have
some information.”
Mota said SAC inspired her
and showed her people from
around the globe are capable of
collaborating and working toward
the greater good.
“This is proof that we can
work
together,”
Mota
said.
“This is incredible, people work
together from around the world,
from countries that I have never
expected that I will be working
with. During a time when people
are stealing medical materials
from each other, this is really
important, because it can show
people who are in charge now
that we can work together, and
despite all of our differences, we
can achieve really cool things.”
In terms of long-run plans for
SAC, Tahir said she wants the
organization to continue even
after the pandemic has been put
to rest.
“While
COVID-19
may
be
put out eventually, the next
pandemic to happen is not an
if but a when situation,” Tahir
said. “All the research, hard work
and dedication put into SAC can
always be a reminder of how we
all should be prepared for the
next pandemic. A continuation
of efforts will be more beneficial
than starting from scratch.”
At the current stage, many
members of SAC say their main
goal is to make it through the
current
COVID-19
pandemic
safely and help flatten the curve
worldwide as much as possible so
lives can be saved.
“Personally,
my
long-term
goal would be to come out of this
situation thanking everyone and
taking everything as a blessing
and not taking anything granted,”
Akhund said.
Daily
Staff
Reporter
Jialin
Zhang can be reached at jialinzh@
umich.edu.
STUDENTS
From Page 2A
“How do you shelter in place
when you’re a homeless shelter,
and you help up to 150 people a
night? You can’t always practice
social
distancing,”
Paspal-
Jasinski said.
Lit
Kurtz
is
a
vendor
at
Groundcover News, a nonprofit
organization
dedicated
to
providing economic opportunities
to the members of the homeless
population. Kurtz spoke with The
Daily about her experience with
housing insecurity.
Kurtz said like other vendors
at Groundcover News, she relies
on the profits she makes from
selling papers to fund her living
expenses. With operations at
Groundcover News temporarily
suspended, Kurtz said she is
worried for those who cannot
provide for themselves and are
forced into warming centers.
Because the COVID-19 crisis has
forced the organization to halt its
print production, there is now an
online subscription option with
the revenue going to vendors.
Kurtz said based on her own
experience, she believes it would
be difficult to comply with social
distancing guidelines.
“There definitely needs to be
extra buildings so that people
are not on top of each other. It’s
a critical time for there to be
space and buildings available
for people who are experiencing
homelessness,” Kurtz said. “From
my experience, when I was there,
everyone was on top of each other.
There’s no way we would be able
to practice distancing and being a
safe distance from other people.”
Kurtz also urged the media
to focus on the perspectives of
those
who
have
experienced
homelessness when covering the
coronavirus.
“Our voices needed to be out
there as soon as this crisis broke
because we were already in
crisis,” Kurtz said. “Progress has
just lagged so far behind and we
are so ill-prepared for this crisis
and I just hope we’ll learn from
this going forward. Some of the
things that are put in place right
now should have been put in place
years ago.”
Eric Hufnagel is the executive
director
of
the
non-profit
organization, Michigan Coalition
Against Homelessness. On March
30,
Hufnagel
wrote
a
letter
addressed
to
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
that
both
thanked
her for her response to the
coronavirus
and
highlighted
this need to focus attention on
the homeless. The letter cited
a recent study conducted by
the University of Pennsylvania,
Boston
University
and
the
University
of
California,
Los
Angeles that provides evidence
that the homeless populations are
at a greater risk of contracting the
coronavirus.
“When
compared
to
the
general population, individuals
experiencing homelessness are
twice as likely to be hospitalized,
two to four times as likely to
require critical care, and two
to three times as likely to die,”
Hufnagel wrote.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com