Whitmer takes steps to combat racism, reports case plateau

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced additional steps to combat racism, declaring it a public health crisis and ordering state employees to complete implicit bias training as the state confronts what she called systemic inequities highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic. The governor on Wednesday also created an advisory council of Black leaders and asked the state health department to make health equity a major goal. Black people account for about 39% of Michigan's nearly 6,500 confirmed and probable deaths related to COVID despite making up 14% of the population.