This afternoon Governor Whitmer announced that the state will move to Phase 4 of her 6 phase MI Safe Restart Plan. Effective immediately the entire state will join the Upper Peninsula and northern lower Michigan in the “improving” phase of the Governor’s plan to gradually reopen the economy.
While today’s announcement is encouraging, it is long overdue. Over the last three months, Governor Whitmer’s 110 executive orders have been contradictory, confusing, and arbitrary. Overly complicated and restrictive orders have led to absolute chaos and economic calamity. The Michigan Chamber has been aggressively advocating for a regional approach to reopening from the onset of the public health emergency and we are encouraged to see this approach finally being taken. Additionally, we have repeatedly called for clearer guidance on what businesses are allowed to open and which cannot as well as what regulations must be followed if allowed to operate. The Governor went out of her way today to invite or encourage local government to enact more onerous requirements whenever they deemed appropriate. This invitation for local government to do whatever they wish will continue to lead to more confusion. For example, in Michigan, there are 180 local health departments now allowed to make independent decisions.
The Governor also announced the recission of her lockdown order however, many restrictions remain in place as outlined in the Governor’s latest order 2020-110 including but not limited to restrictions on gathering sizes and mask requirements. Local units of government are allowed to enact more restrictive policies if they choose.
Other important things you need to know from today’s announcement:
- Retailers can reopen on June 4 and restaurants to reopen on June 8, both subject to capacity limits.
- Office work that is not capable of being performed remotely can resume.
- In-home services, including housecleaning services, can resume operations.
- Theatres, bowling alleys, gyms, hair salons, along with many other businesses must remain closed. A full list of businesses that are not allowed to reopen can be found in the Governor’s latest executive order, 2020-110.
The Michigan Chamber will continue to help members interpret and decipher the myriad of constantly changing regulations coming out of the Governor’s office.
For more information on today’s announcement please contact Dan Papineau at dpapineau@michamber.com