About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2020)
POLITICS The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition - April 15-16, 2020 9A I Associated Press This provided by the Michigan Office of the Governor, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state during a speech in Lansing, Mich., Monday, April 13,2020. The governor said the state has tough days ahead in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, but a return to normalcy is “on the horizon.” GOP decries Michigan governor’s latest order BY DAVID EGGERT Associated Press LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision to toughen rather than relax what already was one of the nation’s strictest stay-home orders in response to the coronavirus is hitting opposi tion in her home state, where Republicans who backed her moves initially are now ratcheting up their criticism. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey took to Facebook to accuse the Democratic governor and vice presidential contender of “DESTROYING OUR HEALTH BY KILL ING OUR LIVELIHOODS!” GOP lawmak ers and allies in the business community say certain operations — golf courses, marinas, landscaping — can operate again if they adhere to social-distancing guidelines. Others in rural areas say the restrictions should no longer be imposed statewide when the virus is far more concentrated in the Detroit area. Michigan has at least 27,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,768 deaths — third-most in the U.S. Whitmer, whose administration is work ing on a plan to gradually get people back to work, contends far-flung communities must be on guard and she is saving lives. She says reopening some businesses now, even those with small crews like lawn-service opera tions, would lead to more fill-ups at gas sta tions where the virus can last up to three days on steel pump handles. “The fewer people that are out and about, the less likely it can continue to spread and threaten our lives and our economy,” she said Monday. Her latest stay-at-home order, issued last week, is scheduled to end April 30. An end- of-the month showdown with the Republi can-led Legislature is looming because her states of emergency and disaster — a basis for the shelter-in-place measure — are due to expire without a legislative extension. GOP legislators are upset because she did not align Michigan with a federal agency’s revised list of critical infrastructure, which would have allowed more people to return to work. The list is advisory and not a directive, but House Speaker Lee Chatfield says the state should transition to asking which activi ties are safe or unsafe rather than essential vs. nonessential. Whitmer’s newest order has resulted in anxiety and confusion in some quarters, for example, because big-box stores were told to close areas devoted to carpet, flooring, fur niture, gardens and plants — though online sales and curbside pickup are still OK. Four people, including the owner of a lawn-care company, sued Whitmer in fed eral court Tuesday, alleging a violation of their constitutional rights. Two are a mar ried couple who said they cannot return home from their Thumb-area cabin to sub urban Detroit due to travel restrictions. At least two Walmart stores temporar ily stopped selling car seats in person even though Whitmer’s measure does not prohibit their sale. Conservatives shared customers’ photos of the stores’ signs on social media. A Detroit TV station’s decision to pair footage of Whitmer signing a measure in 2019 with a virus-related story on fines for violating social-distancing orders was used by critics to falsely accuse her of failing to comply herself. “There’s a lot of false information that is being disseminated,” she said, stressing that people can buy car seats, bug spray and American flags. “I think you need to always discern if there is political posturing going on as opposed to sharing of facts.” Whitmer, in turn, angered Republicans on Monday by incorrectly accusing billionaire Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of fund ing a planned Wednesday protest outside the state Capitol. DeVos stopped her political spending when she joined President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, though family members continue to donate. Weeks after Trump personally attacked Whitmer’s handling of the crisis following her criticism of his administration’s poor planning, his campaign on Tuesday accused her of imposing “authoritarian rule” over Michigan residents. Senate Democratic Leader Jim Ananich defended Whitmer’s “strong leadership. She’s doing everything she can to keep us safe.” South Koreans voting in elections amid virus fears A man wearing a face mask to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus casts his vote for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 15, 2020. South Korea opened its parliamentary election on Wednesday, amid the country’s continued efforts to prevent the coronavirus spread. BY KIM T0NG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean voters wore masks and moved slowly between lines of tape at poll ing stations on Wednesday to elect lawmakers in the shadows of the spreading coronavirus. The government resisted calls to postpone the parlia mentary elections billed as a midterm referendum for President Moon Jae-in, who enters the final years of his term grappling with a his toric public health crisis that is unleashing massive eco nomic shock. While South Korea’s elec torate is deeply divided along ideological and gen erational lines and regional loyalties, recent surveys showed growing support for Moon and his liberal party, reflecting the pub lic’s approval of an aggres sive test-and-quarantine program so far credited for lower fatality rates com pared to worst-hit areas in China, Europe and North America. The long lines that snaked around public offices and schools followed record-high participation in early voting held on Friday and Satur day, seemed to defy expec tations of low voter turnout in the middle of an active campaign to minimize social contact to slow infections. Around 87,000 of South Korea’s 172,000 eligible voters overseas were also denied absentee voting after polling was ruled out in doz ens of diplomatic offices worldwide as the pandemic grew. The voting in South Korea draws contrast with an upended election cycle in the United States, where some states pushed back presidential primaries or switched to voting by mail. To hold the parliamen tary elections as scheduled, South Korean election offi cials and health authori ties drew up a deliberate set of preventive measures to reduce risks of the virus being transmitted. Duct tape or stickers marked a meter of social- distancing space from nearby streets to ballot booths. Masked poll workers checked temperatures of arrivals and whisked anyone with a fever or not wearing a mask to separate areas to AHN Y0UNG-J00N I Associated Press vote, sanitizing the facilities after they do. Voters who passed the fever screening got sanitizing gel and dispos able plastic gloves before entering booths to cast their ballots. The government also mapped out a voting process for citizens quarantined at their homes, a number that ballooned after the country began enforcing two-week quarantines on all arrivals from overseas on April 1. Officials texted eligible voters in self-quarantine before the vote and about 13,000 affirmed they wanted to participate. Those without fever or respiratory symp toms can temporarily leave their homes from 5:20 to 7 p.m. so they could cast their ballots after 6 p.m., when polling stations close for other voters. DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR GAINESVILLE TIMES PRINT UNLIMITED DIGITAL ACCESS? 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