LANSING, Mich. — Wednesday night Governor Gretchen Whitmer made a new plea to employers amid the Coronavirus outbreak.
She's asking employers to support their employees to stay home when they need to in order to help prevent the spread of the virus.
"We are Michiganders first. We must take care of each other," said Governor Whitmer.
This comes as the Governor declared a state of emergency Tuesday night, which means federal funding can now be provided to the state.
In 2009, Michigan received funding for the H1N1 virus.
Funding for the Coronavirus would provide similar resources.
Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said, "That allowed us to hire more nurses, more temp nurses and those sorts of things to help with our vaccination clinics. To help us manage our phones because our phones would not stop ringing."
Since the Governor wants sick employees to stay home, she says businesses should start coming up with a backup plan.
Meridian Township Fire Chief Mike Hamel said, "Cross-training is something that is talked about and how do you work with less of a workforce."
Governor Whitmer focused her speech Wednesday on how to prevent the virus from spreading.
She said everyone needs to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds, wipe down surfaces, and stay away from large crowds.
The Governor is also asking everyone to cancel non-essential travel inside and outside the country.
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