UP Gazette

The number of COVID-19 cases is under scrutiny in Michigan after the underlying cause of death of a 2-month-old was listed as coronavirus and necrotizing enterocolitis instead of a birth defect, according to media reports.

The Detroit News reports that Milwaukee County medical examiner reported the infant's cause of death was gastroschisis. While the infant was considered a confirmed fatality of the coronavirus, his mother, Brooke Granquist, reportedly posted on Facebook that she was angry that COVID was included on the death certificate.

“I am angry. I am so ANGRY. If you heard the state of Michigan report on COVID this morning, you may have heard a 2-month-old baby died of COVID. I need everyone to know that (my child) did NOT die of COVID," the Detroit News noted.

Jeannie Burchfield | Calhoun County GOP

The dashboard for the state of Michigan reports 134,373 confirmed cases and 7,044 fatalities as of Sept. 28, but some are questioning the accuracy of state counts and related restrictions on citizens, according to media reports.

“I am certainly looking forward to returning power to the citizens through our elected representatives,” Jeannie Burchfield, chair of the Calhoun County GOP, told UP Gazette. 

Unlock Michigan, a group working to restrict Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's emergency powers, started circulating a petition on Aug. 3 to repeal the law that has allowed Whitmer to order COVID-19 restrictions without the Legislature. The Detroit News reported this week that while the state elections board requires 340,000 valid signatures, group organizers have collected 500,000 signatures.

“I never could have imagined this level of unilateral control in the United States,” Burchfield told the UP Gazette. “I believe it will continue to get worse. Even though lies are discovered, the narratives they create remain, which is hard to explain. Changed information rarely changes minds.”

Whitmer told TV 6 and Fox Up on Sept. 24 that she is not planning on renewing restrictions in the Upper Peninsula region at this time.

"We’re imploring people to keep masking up and to not congregate; don’t host big events; and when you are out and about, to maintain that distance. I know this has been hard. It’s been a long haul," she said in an interview. "Every one of us, including me, wishes that we didn’t have to do this anymore, and yet, we want to make sure that we can keep this economy engaged and some of the normalcy that we’ve been able to get back as we’ve pushed our numbers down, we want to hold on that. And so if these numbers increase, having to take a step backward might have to be the case at some point, but we’re trying to avoid that. So please do your part to make sure that we don’t have to do that.”