UNIVERSITY CENTER – On March 16, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order to temporarily close bars, restaurants and other public gathering spaces, restricting restaurants to take-out/delivery service only, as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus.
As stated in a press release, executive order 2020-9 takes effect Monday, March 16 at 3 p.m. and currently lasts until Monday, March 30 at 11:59 p.m.
The order calls for the closure of the following places of public accommodation:
- Restaurants
- Cafes
- Coffee houses
- Bars/taverns/brew pubs
- Distilleries
- Clubs
- Movie theaters
- Indoor and outdoor performance venues
- Gymnasiums and fitness centers
- Recreation centers
- Indoor sports facilities and exercise facilities
- Exercise studios
- Spas
- Casinos
The order, however, allows restaurants to sell food and beverages via take-out or delivery. Restaurants may allow up to five people inside at a time for picking up orders, as long as they stay at least six feet apart from each other, as a social distancing measure.
The following businesses are exempt from the order:
- Office buildings
- Grocery stores and markets
- Food pantries
- Pharmacies
- Drug stores
- Providers of medical equipment
- Healthcare and residential care facilities
- Congregate care facilities
- Juvenile justice facilities
- Warehouse and distribution centers
- Industrial and manufacturing facilities
So far Michigan has 53 confirmed cases of the virus. The U.S. has at least 3,400 cases, with 65 fatalities, as of 8 a.m. on Monday, March 16.
“This disease is a challenge unlike any we’ve experienced in our lifetimes,” Whitmer said in the press release. “Fighting it will cause significant but temporary changes to our daily lives. By practicing social distancing and taking aggressive action now, the state is working to mitigate the spread of coronavirus so we reduce the risk that our healthcare system becomes overwhelmed.”
By issuing the order, Michigan is following suit with other states, including Ohio and Illinois, which have already enacted similar measures to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The latest information on this evolving pandemic can be found at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.