This article originally appeared in The Detroit News March 4, 2025.

Five years ago on March 10, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here in Michigan, the pandemic inflicted a toll, with 40,000 confirmed deaths, according to the state. Five years later, the consequences of Michigan’s lockdowns deserve to be examined.

Elected leaders appear reluctant to assess how they handled the crisis. President Donald Trump has muted his comments about his pandemic decisions. And former President Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci. What crimes could Fauci have committed? We don’t know because they have not told us.

Whitmer summed up her performance in “True Gretch,” a 2024 memoir. “Our response to Covid wasn’t perfect, but I believe that the steps we took saved lives,” she wrote.

What mistakes did the state make? Whitmer did not elaborate.

Here are five mistakes worth reviewing:

First, the state restricted social and economic activity without knowing the efficacy of its actions. Early on, Whitmer told people not to touch gas pumps because it might spread the virus. The state ordered grocery stores to designate aisles as one-way only. The vulnerable elderly were housed with infected residents in long-term care facilities. Experimentation can be a good thing, as long as you tell people that’s what you’re doing.

Second, the emergency rules were wildly inconsistent. The governor closed gardening centers while liquor stores stayed open. Whitmer ordered people to avoid family gatherings and yet she joined hundreds to march in a protest. Marlena Pavlos-Hackney was arrested for keeping her restaurant open while state officials openly flouted their own rules. No matter how ineffective or inconsistent the rules, we were told that every decision was grounded in a rigorous, scientific calculus.

Third, Whitmer exploited emergency laws while ignoring statewide contingency plans that had been written for this type of crisis. Whitmer unilaterally ran the lives of 10 million people, thanks to little-used emergency laws. She issued nearly 200 emergency orders and 1,000 FAQs to explain her orders. Since then, the state has done little to restrict emergency powers. Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel still has the power to restrict people through epidemic orders.

Fourth, the governor disregarded the rule of law and eroded public trust. Whitmer failed to build consensus with her political opponents. She violated separation of powers by sidelining the Michigan Legislature. When the Michigan Supreme Court invalidated her unconstitutional orders, she criticized the justices. Public officials violated transparency laws and norms — people had to litigate to get government records about the lockdowns. In August 2020 Whitmer halted in-person briefings with the media, and her team appeared to screen the questions as she took, which made accountability more difficult.

Fifth, political leaders minimized the long-term consequences of shutting down society. I visited a bookstore in Saginaw a few weeks ago. At the entrance, a sign was bolted to the brick wall. “Please Observe Social Distancing,” it read, with a diagram of two people six feet apart. The damage of the lockdowns goes far beyond forgotten signage. Five years in, we can see the effects on mental health, civil liberties, substance abuse, student performance and the economy.

In leadership, mistakes are inevitable. Crises do not come with ready-made solutions, information is incomplete and judgment calls are necessary. But leaders must examine those decisions. Willful blindness deprives us of important insights. In reviewing Michigan’s lockdown record, it is necessary to single out the governor because she seized unilateral control of the state for months. But what mistakes did the Republican-run Legislature make? What mistakes did local public health officials make?

Five years later, we have much to learn.

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