LANSING, Mich.-- Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday gave an update to the state's COVID-19 response.

Whitmer signed an Executive Order Thursday that will require health care professionals to undergo training "to help reduce racial and other disparities in delivery of medical services." 

The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) under the new Executive Order will develop rules that will require implicit bias training for health care professionals in Michigan as part of the knowledge and skills necessary to receive licensure, registration, and the renewal of licenses and registrations.

The governor has also arranged implicit bias training for herself and her office. 

"There's no doubt that our front line health care workers like doctors and nurses have been the real heroes of this crisis, putting their lives on the line for us every day," Whitmer said in a press release. "COVID-19 has had a disparate impact on people of color due to a variety of factors, and we must do everything we can to address this disparity. The evidence shows that training in implicit bias can make a positive difference, so today we are taking action to help improve racial equity across Michigan's health care system. That’s why my staff has begun this kind of training and every member of my team, including me, will complete this type of training on an annual basis.”