Tonight, Governor Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a new emergency order to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect our families, frontline workers, and small businesses from the virus. This order takes effect this Wednesday and will be in effect for three weeks, as they continuously monitor the data to determine next steps. These steps are what the public health experts say must be taken to avoid overwhelmed hospitals and death counts like we saw this spring. Please see the documents below for more background:
Getting this health crisis under control is essential to getting the economic crisis under control. Under this order, indoor residential gatherings are limited to two households at any one time. However, MDHHS strongly urges families to pick a single other household to interact with over the next three weeks, consistent with new guidance released by the department. The order is aimed at limiting residential and non-residential gatherings where COVID-19 spreads rapidly. Bars and restaurants will be open for outdoor dining, carry-out, and delivery only. Gyms will remain open for individual exercise with strict safety measures in place. Casinos, movie theaters, and group exercise classes will be closed. Professional and college sports meeting extraordinary standards for risk mitigation may continue without spectators, however all other organized sports must stop. Colleges and high schools may proceed with remote learning, but must end in-person classes. Here we go together: we’ve got this!
