(WXYZ) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer provided another update on the state's response to coronavirus on Tuesday afternoon.
Whitmer was joined by MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun for the briefing and Dr. Emily Martin, an epidemiologist from the University of Michigan.
It came as the state reopened retail stores and auto dealerships as of Tuesday morning. Those businesses have to take several precautions – including being appointment-only. You can read more about those here.
It wasa the first update since she extended the stay-at-home order until June 12.
Michigan now has 5,266 deaths from coronavirus and 55,104 cases, according to the latest numbers on Tuesday.
Whitmer started the briefing by recognizing some of the people from the state who died from COVID-19, and then talked about the importance of testing.
She announced the expansion of testing and testing criteria for Michiganders.
Under the order, anyone who leaves their home for work or has even mild symptoms may be tested at a community testing location without getting a doctor's order.
A person who wishes to be tested may call the Michigan coronavirus hotline at 1-888-535-6136 or visit www.michigan.gov/coronavirus [lnks.gd]test to find an appropriate testing location.
She also announced a new COVID-19 dashboard that will help assist public health officials and making state, regional and county-level decisions related to the virus. The dashboard can be found at www.mistartmap.info.
Dr. Khaldun then took over and talked about the newest numbers in the state of Michigan, adding that the rate of rise in the state continues to go down. She said more than 33,000 people have recovered.
Cases are steadlily declining in southeast and southwest Michigan, according to Khaldun, but the Grand Rapids region continues to have the highest rate of new cases per million people.
According to Khaldun, the state averaged 14,420 tests per day last week, and said the state has received and processed more tests for COVID-19 in the last three months than for all reportable diseases in 2019.
Whitmer also addressed a recent story about her husband, Mark, which came out over the weekend. According to Whitmer, he made a failed attempt at humor when checking in with the small business that puts their boat in the water.
He asked if being married to the governor would make a difference, which Whitmer said was a joke.
"I wasn't laughing either when it was relayed to me," she said, adding that it would be perceived differently.
"I am not going to be bullied into ignoring the science and make political calculations," she said while addressing other things that have happened to Whitmer and her family.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
Read our daily Coronavirus Live Blog for the latest updates and news on coronavirus.
Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Michigan, a timeline of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Southeast Michigan, and links to more information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and the WHO.
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
Find out how you can help metro Detroit restaurants struggling during the pandemic.
See all of our Helping Each Other stories.
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.