Public officials who launched Michigan’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago are not talking much about this sad anniversary.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave little attention to the lockdown period in her 2024 memoir. “Our response to COVID wasn’t perfect, but I believe that the steps we took saved lives,” Whitmer wrote. What were those mistakes? The governor did not say.

We’re also not seeing much introspection from federal officials. Dr. Anthony Fauci defended social distancing rules when he spoke to a congressional committee last year.

It’s hard to blame any American for wanting to forget this shameful period in our nation’s history. But half a decade later, we need to look back at the COVID response and its results. For the Mackinac Center, there are even some things to be proud of.

Despite the severity of the state’s lockdown orders, COVID did not spare Michigan. The state saw 2.7 million confirmed cases and 40,000 deaths, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

While the orders didn’t stop the disease, they confused just about everybody. Early on, Whitmer told people not to touch gas pumps because that might spread the virus. The state ordered grocery stores to designate aisles as one-way only. The vulnerable elderly were housed in long-term care facilities, sometimes with infected residents. The governor closed gardening centers but said liquor stores could stay open. People were allowed to use rowboats but not motorboats. In a foolish attempt to run the lives of 10 million Michiganders, Whitmer cited little-used emergency laws to issue nearly 200 emergency orders and 1,000 FAQs explaining those orders.

All this earned Michigan national ridicule. A New York Times columnist labeled Whitmer’s actions “daft,” while The Wall Street Journal said Whitmer issued the “most excessive decrees” in the country. Michigan Capitol Confidential, the Mackinac Center’s daily news organization, kept a close watch on these contradictory orders, as Scott McClallen shows in this issue. Next time a Michigan governor tries to grab power, we will have a record of what happened before.

And there could easily be a next time, as Michael Van Beek notes in his analysis of Michigan’s current emergency plans. Michigan needs laws that clearly define and limit the scope of emergency powers. With your help, the Mackinac Center is building support in the Legislature and in public opinion to make sure no governor can shut down the state again.

There were some bright spots in the lockdown period. Patrick Wright describes how the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation went into action once it became clear that the governor had chosen unilateral rule over the hard work of building consensus and respecting the separation of powers. We worked with Michigan medical practices to end an arbitrary shutdown order and obtained a state Supreme Court ruling that struck down Whitmer’s efforts to sideline the Legislature. In 2023, we blew the whistle on an illegal attempt by the Michigan Education Association and that union’s insurance division to grab more than $12 million flowing through the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

The lockdowns also spurred a shift in public opinion on education. Molly Macek describes how parents around the state, burned by school shutdowns, are exploring homeschool and hybrid learning options. Wherever Michigan parents are seeking school choice, the Mackinac Center will be there to help them.

Nobody should feel good looking back on the lockdown period, whose effects on civil liberties, mental health, substance abuse, student performance and the economy are still with us. But by standing up for the rule of law when it was least fashionable, the Mackinac Center checked government overreach. Thanks to your support, we’ll be even more ready next time.