The Week in Whitmer: Stay Home Extended, Restaurants Re-Open

This week, a number of things happened in Lansing related to the COVID-19 virus. Let’s take a closer look…

Stay-Home Order Extended Into June

In Thursday’s Executive Order 2020-96, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended the “Stay Home Stay Safe” order through June 12, and the state’s Emergency Declaration through June 19.

“While the data shows that we are making progress, we are not out of the woods yet,” said Whitmer. “If we’re going to lower the chance of a second wave and continue to protect our neighbors and loved ones from the spread of this virus, we must continue to do our part by staying safer at home.”

She added, “If we open too soon, thousands more could die, and our hospitals will get overwhelmed. While we finally have more protective equipment like masks, we can’t run the risk of running low again. We owe it to the real heroes on the front lines of this crisis, our first responders, health care workers, and critical workers putting their lives on the line every day to do what we can ourselves to stop the spread of the virus.”

Restaurants, Bars and Retail Allowed to Re-Open

But there are other things happening that seem contradictory to the stay-home order that have some of us scratching our head. Here’s the scoop…

In Monday’s Executive Order 2020-92, we learned that people in Regions 6 (northern Michigan) and 8 (Upper Peninsula) are now allowed to:

• Gather in groups of no more than ten people (adhering to social distancing and mask-wearing)
• Enter retail stores and motor vehicle dealerships by appointment, beginning on May 26, 2020
• Use medical, dental and veterinary facilities beginning May 29, 2020

However, restaurants and bars must limit capacity to 50 percent of their normal seating, keep groups at least six feet apart, require servers to wear face coverings, follow rigorous disinfection protocols, and follow the guidelines outlined in Executive Order 2020-92.

On the Old Mission Peninsula, The Boathouse and Peninsula Grill are now open at 50 percent capacity and also continue to offer takeout. Old Mission Tavern, Jolly Pumpkin and Mission Table remain closed, but Jolly Pumpkin may be opening in the coming week.

Stay Home or Eat Out?

So what does that mean for us in terms of the stay-home order? Are we supposed to go out or stay home?

While the stay-home order is still in place and encouraged by Gov. Whitmer, those of us in northern Michigan are now also allowed to patronize the above-noted businesses. However, the COVID-19 guidelines are still in place for re-opened businesses: wear masks, keep up the social distancing, and stay at least six feet away from others.

Note that not yet included in the businesses allowed to re-open are salons, theaters, gyms and casinos.

For more specifics about anything related to the above, read Gov. Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-92 and 2020-96.