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I am proudly wearing my T-shirt today, the one that says, “I stand with ‘that woman from Michigan.’”

“That woman” has earned the state an A and the top ranking of all 50 states in how well the state has responded to the coronavirus pandemic (TruePeopleSearch Insights truepeoplesearch.com/insights/).

PeopleSearch analyzed publicly available data to determine which states handled the virus best, using seven criteria:

• Weekly change in new cases per million residents

• Cases per one million

• Deaths per one million

• Tests per one million

• Reaction time to issue stay-at-home orders

• Reaction time to close schools

• Reaction time to close bars and restaurants

The top five states and their grades are 1. Michigan A 2. New Mexico B+

3. Vermont B 4. Illinois B- 5. Kentucky B-. The five worst states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, South Carolina and Florida.

While it may be an inconvenience to stay home and to wear a mask when out, we should stop and think about the neighbor whose 30-year-old son died from COVID-19 or the friend whose husband is still recovering. Without the swift bold action of Gov. Whitmer, we would have lost many more. I stand with her.

Naomi Ludman

Dowagiac