In response to what appears be another surge of cases of coronavirus in the state of Michigan over the past three weeks, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-151 on Tuesday, which extends the governor’s emergency and disaster declaration until August 11, 2020 at 11:59pm. This is not the same as the Governor's state of emergency part of the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order, which was lifted last month.

The state of emergency was originally set to expire on July 16.

Daily COVID-19 case counts now exceed 20 cases per million in the Detroit, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo regions. The increase in cases reflects a national trend which is showing COVID-19 cases growing in 39 states and in some are surging uncontrollably.

Economically, the Michigan Department of Treasury is predicting that this year the state will lose between $1 and $3 billion in revenue while also facing uncertainty in regards of federal support in helping ease some of the financial burden the virus has caused.

Unless it is renewed, for example, Congress’s emergency infusion of money into the unemployment system will cease at the end of this month. The health, economic, and social harms of the COVID-19 pandemic remain widespread and severe, and they continue to constitute a statewide emergency and disaster.