Turn porch lights on to honor COVID-19 victims

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist are asking all Michiganders to turn on their porch lights from 8-9 p.m. on Wednesday to mark one year since the first known COVID-19 cases in Michigan and honor those lost to the pandemic.

“As we mark this occasion, we also look towards the light at the end of the tunnel. We have three safe, effective vaccines, all miracles of science, that will help protect you, your family, and others from COVID and help us get our country and the economy back to normal,” Whitmer said in a news release.

Since March, Michigan has lost 15,670 people to COVID-19. There have been 598,014 cases, according to the state health department.

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“It’s been one year since COVID-19 was found in Michigan, and as a result, this virus has changed almost every aspect of our daily lives, but despite its darkness, we have seen the brightest light shine in the determined resolve of each other during these trying times,” Gilchrist said in the news release.