Michigan State University allows nearly 15,000 basketball fans at sold-out games but shuts down in-person learning in January



Michigan State University won't allow for in-person learning until the final day of January, but at the same time had no problem opening up the school's arena for nearly 15,000 screaming fans to attend every Spartans' home basketball game this month.

On Dec. 31, Michigan State University president Samuel L. Stanley Jr. announced in a letter that the school's spring 2022 semester would commence on Jan. 10 virtually and continue to be remote-learning until Jan. 31.

Stanley notes that Michigan suffered a spike of COVID-19 cases in December – which at the time was an all-time high of more than 11,000 cases.

"Given this intense surge in cases, we now feel the best decision for our campus is to start classes primarily remotely on Jan. 10 and for at least the first three weeks of the semester," writes Stanley – who uses the preferred pronouns of "he" and "him" in the letter.

Stanley admits, "I realize that students prefer to be in person, and so do I. But it is important that we do so in a safe manner."

"Starting the semester remotely and de-densifying campus in the coming weeks can be a solution to slowing the spread of the virus," the letter to MSU students reads. "During the first three weeks, my leadership team and I will be reviewing case numbers and other COVID-19 trends regularly to determine what additional protective measures will be enacted."

Michigan State University will be remote learning for nearly all of January requires all faculty, staff, and students to wear face coverings indoors. The university also mandates that all faculty, staff, and students be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as "receive their booster if and when they are eligible."

While in-state students are paying tuition of more than $25,000 and out-of-state students are doling out more than $51,000, they won't receive in-person learning until Jan. 31. Meanwhile, Michigan State's basketball arena has been running at 100% capacity for all home games this month.

"Attendance at all of Michigan State University's home basketball games in the month of January at the Breslin Center was at 100% capacity with 14,797 fans in attendance," Fox News reports.

The Spartans' men's basketball team will play four home games at the Breslin Center this month.

Michigan State University requires attendees of indoor sporting events on campus to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or have a negative COVID-19 test, plus has instituted a mask mandate.

The sold-out stadium has been full of basketball fans despite record numbers of COVID-19 cases in Michigan.

Since Jan. 1, there have been more than 13,000 COVID-19 cases each day. Michigan hit a pandemic high of 23,460 COVID-19 cases on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7, according to Worldometer.

"The fact that students can fill the (Breslin Center) packed shoulder to shoulder for hours before the game, for the entirety of the game and be together for, you know, probably three hours at night with no social distancing, not even including all the outsiders being brought in to campus for the game, it's wildly hypocritical" MSU student Blake Maday told Fox News.

Dan Olsen – the deputy spokesperson for Michigan State University – issued a statement to Fox News regarding the situation.

"Athletics events are optional events that students or the pubic [sic] can attend, unlike classes which are required for our students to progress toward their degree and graduate," Olsen said. "Our decision to start the first three weeks remotely was difficult and was influenced by two key factors. One factor was the uncertainty at the time of Omicron and having some time to understand it and its impact better."

"The other factor was recognizing we would have a significant increase in cases that would result in hundreds of students and employees needing to be out of the classroom quarantining or isolating, we wanted to ensure consistency in the first weeks of our spring semester so everyone had an equal opportunity to learn with as less of a disruption to their education as possible," Olsen stated.

Dem. chairman blocks Jim Jordan from pressing Fauci for blaming disobedient Americans for COVID surges in lockdown states



Disobedient Americans are to blame for surging coronavirus cases in the states with the strictest lockdowns, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci and senior House Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). Or at least that's what they appeared to say during a congressional hearing on the pandemic response late last week.

While Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan's hostile questioning of Dr. Fauci on when Americans could "get their freedoms back" made headlines, during his time to speak, Jordan also asked an important question that went unanswered and underreported.

Pointing to Michigan, which had some of the nation's strictest lockdown policies and yet is reporting the highest level of COVID-19 cases in the United States, Jordan asked Fauci to explain why states that ended lockdowns and loosened restrictions like Texas or Michigan's neighbor Wisconsin are not seeing comparable surges in COVID-19 cases.

"You said when Texas ended their lockdown, ended their mandate, that this was 'inexplicable and would lead to a surge in cases,'" Jordan reminded Fauci last Thursday. "Texas is near the bottom of the 50 states [for coronavirus cases] but all the states at the top are lockdown states."

Those "top lockdown states" Jordan cited include Michigan, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York City, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York.

"What explains why Texas is so darn low compared to the rest of the states?" he asked.

Dr. Fauci was asked why Texas, with no statewide restrictions, hasn’t yet seen a surge this spring, unlike other st… https://t.co/Xh4binX6Tp
— Genève Campbell (@Genève Campbell)1618967369.0

"There's a difference between lockdown and the people obeying the lockdown," Fauci replied. "You could have a situation where they say we're going to lock down, and yet you have people doing exactly what they shouldn't do."

Fauci said, in other words, that people in Michigan may not be in compliance with the state's restrictions and mandates whereas in Texas, by his logic, state residents are more in compliance with mask-wearing, social distancing, and self-imposed quarantine.

"Is that what's happening in the top eight states in the country?" an incredulous Jordan pressed. "They're just not following what's been told, they're not listening to Dr. Fauci?"

But before Fauci could answer, committee Chairman Jim Clyburn announced that Jordan's time had expired and attempted to move on. When Jordan protested that Fauci should answer his question, Clyburn asserted that the doctor already had.

"I think the gentleman answered you quite clearly," Clyburn said, though Fauci never answered Jordan. "There is a big difference in being a lockdown state by order and being a state that obeys orders. That answers the question, in my opinion."

According to the latest numbers from the New York Times' COVID-19 tracker, Michigan reported an average of 6,884 new COVID-19 cases on April 20. The state is reporting about 69 new cases per 100,000 people daily.

By way of comparison, Wisconsin reported a daily average of 827 new cases on April 20 and is reporting just 14 new cases per 100,000 people. In Texas there were 2,952 new cases, 10 new cases per 100,000 people.

In March, Wisconsin's Supreme Court struck down Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' statewide mask mandate. That same month, Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott lifted his state's mask mandates and fully reopened the state from COVID-19 lockdowns, a move Fauci at the time called "quite risky."

But neither state experienced a surge of coronavirus cases after ending their mask mandates and lockdown policies. On April 10 on MSNBC, Fauci said he wasn't sure why Texas' coronavirus cases were going down and suggested "it could be they're doing things outdoors."

The fact of the matter is Michigan continues to enforce coronavirus restrictions and yet cases are still going up. States that ended the restrictions are not seeing comparable surges in COVID-19 cases. And before the nation's most-cited health expert on the coronavirus response, Dr. Fauci, could answer a question on that discrepancy, Clyburn shut the conversation down.

Whitmer: COVID-19 is surging in Michigan even with strict mask mandates and capacity restrictions

Whitmer: COVID-19 is surging in Michigan even with strict mask mandates and capacity restrictions



Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that her state is "seeing a surge" of COVID-19 cases even though the state government continues to impose strict mask mandates and capacity restrictions on residents.

Whitmer made an appeal to the White House, requesting that the Biden administration send additional vaccines to Michigan as the state reports the worst virus surge in the nation. Last week, Michigan averaged 6,429 new virus cases per day, and nine of the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most new cases per capita are in the state, according to the New York Times.

The governor told CBS News there is a combination of factors leading to increased spread.

"We kept our spread low for a long period of time, so we've got reservoirs of people that don't have antibodies. We have variants, big presence of variants here in Michigan that are easier to catch. And people are tired and they're moving around more," Whitmer said.

On Friday April 9, Whitmer asked high schools to voluntarily go virtual, youth sports to pause, and residents to avoid indoor dining for two weeks to slow the spread of the virus. Though the governor also requested more vaccine doses from the federal government, White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters Friday that the "fair and equitable" way to distribute the vaccine was to prioritize states with the largest adult populations.

Speaking on "Face the Nation," Whitmer said the White House should reconsider, pointing out that even though Michigan has some of the harshest COVID restrictions in the country, cases are continuing to rise.

"We are seeing a surge in Michigan despite the fact that we have some of the strongest policies in place, mask mandates, capacity limits, working from home. We've asked our state for a two-week pause. So despite all of that, we are seeing a surge because of these variants," said Whitmer. "That's precisely why we're really encouraging them to think about surging vaccines into the state of Michigan."

Host Margaret Brennan asked Whitmer about reports that Biden officials are saying Michigan's state government is failing to distribute the vaccines that were allotted to it. According to the New York Times tracker, Michigan has distributed 78% of its allotted vaccine doses, which is slightly lower than average for the nation. Neighboring Wisconsin has a much more efficient distribution rate of 91%, and New Hampshire leads the nation with 95% of its vaccine doses used. Only 35% of Michigan residents have received their first vaccine shot and 23% are fully vaccinated, though these numbers are average for the nation.

"I don't think there's a governor in the country that's leaving any vaccines on the table. And I can tell you that's certainly the case in Michigan. We are getting shots in arms. We got over a million shots in arms just in the last two weeks. So we have really been rolling," said Whitmer.

She added: "But all of that being said, right now, we know we've got even greater capacity. We could get more vaccines in arms. And when there is a surge, we think that it's important that we — we go to — we rush in to meet where that need is, because what's happening in Michigan today could be what's happening in other states tomorrow. And so it's on all of us to recognize we can squash where we're seeing hot spots. It's in everyone's best interest."

Though the White House is not yet sending additional vaccines to Michigan, Whitmer thanked the Biden administration for promising to send additional resources for testing and to distribute the remainder of its vaccines more efficiently.

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