LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed executive order 2020-59 Friday, extending her “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order through May 15, 2020.
The new order requires people to wear homemade face coverings when they enter enclosed public spaces.
But her order also provides some breathing room, lifting some restrictions on outdoor activities and allowing some people to go back to work.
“Data shows that most Michiganders are doing their part by staying home and staying safe. That’s good, but we must keep it up. Social distancing is our best weapon to defeat this enemy,” said Governor Whitmer said in a statement released prior to her scheduled 11 a.m. Friday, April 24, 2020 address. “With new COVID-19 cases leveling off, however, we are lifting some of the restrictions put in place in the previous order. I want to be crystal clear: the overarching message today is still the same. We must all do our part by staying home and staying safe as much as possible.”
While some COVID-19 numbers have plateaued “Michiganders must continue doing their part to fight this virus and protect their families,” said MDHHS Chief Deputy for Health and Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun. “The governor has taken a number of critical steps to protect Michigan families, and this order today will allow that work to continue. We will keep monitoring the data closely and work with our partners across state government to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
The order requires people to wear homemade, non-medical-grade face coverings when they enter enclosed public spaces. Employers must also provide at least cloth face coverings to their employees.
People won’t have to wear face coverings when they’re walking in their neighborhoods, but will need them, for example, for grocery store trips.
Under the order, no one will face criminal penalties for going without a mask.
Among those free to return to work: Landscapers, lawn-service companies, and nurseries, subject to strict social-distancing rules. Retailers that do not sell necessary supplies may reopen for curbside pick-up and for delivery. Big box stores can reopen “closed areas,” like garden centers. Bike repair and maintenance shops can also re-open.
Also allowed: motorized boating and golf (but no golf carts), consistent with sound social distancing.
Individuals may also travel between their residences, though “such travel during the epidemic is strongly discouraged.”
State parks will remain open as well.
On April 16, Governor Whitmer announced that she and Governors Mike DeWine (OH), Tony Evers (WI), Tim Walz (MN), JB Pritzker (IL), Eric Holcomb (IN), and Andy Beshear (KY) will work in close coordination to reopen the economy in the Midwest region.
