On Wednesday, a judge denied a legal challenge to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay home order.
Whitmer issued the initial stay home order in March with the intent to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
The plaintiffs in the case alleged the “mandatory quarantine” and its travel restrictions violated their rights. The suit claimed the governor’s orders were “arbitrary” and “capricious.”
But Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray denied a motion for a preliminary injunction.
“Although the Court is painfully aware of the difficulties of living under the restrictions of these executive orders, those difficulties are temporary, while to those who contract the virus and cannot recover (and to their family members and friends), it is all too permanent.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel welcomed the decision.
“The primary goal of the Stay Home, Stay Safe order has always been to protect human life,” says Nessel.
Since the outbreak began, the state of Michigan has counted 40,399 cases of the disease, with more than 1,100 cases added to the list Wednesday.
3,670 Michiganders have died of COVID-19.
State health department officials say roughly a quarter of those infected have officially “recovered,” having lived more than 30 days since their initial diagnoses.
African-Americans still make up a disproportionately large percentage of those infected and dying of COVID-19 in Michigan.
The disease remains especially deadly for the elderly, with 87% of deaths occurring in those over the age of 60, and with the risk increasing with age.
