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

