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Republican lawmakers pushed back against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's criticism of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic when she testified Tuesday to a U.S. House subcommittee about Michigan's response. And they challenged Whitmer about her own response to COVID-19 in Michigan nursing homes, where federal data released Monday shows that, as of May 24, Michigan had 1,654 nursing home deaths — the fifth-highest per capita in the nation and more than 200 higher than the number reported by state officials. (Egan, 6/2)

Governor Gina M. Raimondo on Tuesday defended the state’s response to the coronavirus outbreak in nursing homes. She acknowledged that the state has a higher proportion of coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes than its neighboring states: 76 percent in Rhode Island, compared to 62 percent in Massachusetts and 57 percent in Connecticut, she said. (Fitzpatrick, 6/2)

State officials Tuesday issued new guidelines that allow nursing home residents to have visitors for the first time in nearly three months, as long as they meet outdoors and follow procedures aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The guidelines, which become effective Wednesday, say long-term care facilities “may allow in-person visitation in a designated outdoor visitation space,” if they implement specific safety, care, and infection-control measures. (Murphy, 6/2)

Coronavirus deaths among Georgia’s long-term care residents topped 1,000 on Monday in the state’s official tally, a brutal milestone demonstrating the pandemic’s unforgiving attack on vulnerable seniors. Across Georgia, 5,850 residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and large personal care homes have tested positive for coronavirus at some point during the pandemic, and 1,001 have died, according to the Georgia Department of Community Health. (Teegardin, 6/2)