McBroom reacts to governor’s partial reopening of the U.P.

McBroom reacts to governor’s partial reopening of the U.P.

LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, issued the following statement on Monday, after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a partial reopening of the Upper Peninsula, effective Friday, May 22.

“Like many residents in the Upper Peninsula, I was pleased to hear the governor announce today that she has decided to allow some restaurants, bars, retail and office locations to go back to work on Friday. While this is a welcome development and something that I have been calling for, it does not go far enough, and I worry it may be too late for some.

“Sparing lives and protecting the health and well-being of people is a noble pursuit. One life lost to this virus is one too many, but the broader effects of this shutdown have been deep and wide. Livelihoods throughout the U.P. have been irrevocably lost. This could lead to the loss of homes and the inability of people to even feed their families. Perhaps worse, I have been in touch with families who’ve lost people to suicide and those who have considered it due to despair or untreated pain.

“This isn’t working. No more picking and choosing who can and can’t be open or who is and isn’t essential. Can doctor’s offices even be open? Salons or barbers? The governor’s announcement today wasn’t clear, and that repetitive lack of clarity is both insulting and unnecessary. So beyond needing clarity about what she says, we also need her to be open with us about how and why she is arriving at her decisions. If she had even bothered to call just one U.P. legislator about these or past decisions, we could have helped make sure many more things were clear and not left to be cleaned up or fixed later.

“Every life is essential, and we have to move forward because, while this virus likely isn’t going anywhere soon, our economy and people’s livelihoods are by the day. We have to be able to trust one another to be smart, be safe and get back to living.”

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