Inside208

Governor Extends Michigan Stay at Home Order to May 15, Allows Some Businesses to Reopen

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Dene Westbrook

Governor Whitmer has issued Executive Order 2020-59 extending the stay at home order until May 15, but the new order does allow some businesses to reopen.

Starting Sunday, everyone who can do so must wear a face covering of some sort when in an indoor public space. The order also requires businesses and operations that have people working in-person to provide “at a minimum” non-medical grade face coverings for their employees as the world continues to prevent the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19.

The order still requires people to stay at home, bans public and private gatherings of any number of people who are not part of the same household and directs people to construe the order broadly to “prohibit in-person work that is not necessary to sustain or protect life.”

One significant change is that the Governor’s order allows retailers that don’t sell “necessary” supplies to reopen for curbside pick-up and delivery. People can leave home to pick up “non-necessary supplies at the curbside from a store that must otherwise remain closed to the public.”

The order also allows big box stores to reopen the “closed areas” like the garden centers.

Workers who can resume operations include those in garden stores, nurseries, lawn care, pest control and landscaping operations, although they’re subject to “enhanced social-distancing rules” spelled out in the order. Those include barring gatherings of any size where six feet of distance cannot be maintained, limiting in-person interaction with clients and patrons, providing personal protective equipment, limiting the sharing of tools and equipment and doing frequent cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.

Other workers falling under the “resumed activities” category include:

  • People who perform bicycle maintenance and repair
  • Maintenance workers and groundskeepers needed to maintain the safety and sanitation of outdoor recreation places that aren’t otherwise closed
  • Workers for moving or storage operations
  • Workers who process remote orders for goods for delivery or curbside pickup

The order now lists “boating” and “golfing” among the list of outdoor recreational activity that people can engage in outside of their homes.

The new executive order allows people to travel between two of their residences in Michigan or to a residence outside of state. Yet other travel is prohibited, including to vacation rentals.

Please click here for a copy of the order.

John LaMacchia is the Assistant Director of State and Federal Affairs for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, energy and environment issues. He can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0303.

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