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Governor Gretchen Whitmer is expected to announce an extension of Michigan’s partial shutdown at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, according to several Michigan business leaders.
Michigan’s most recent closure expires at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Jan.15, and includes a ban on in-person eating at restaurants. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 order began on November 18 and has been repeatedly extended.
Reopening of indoor restaurants could be scheduled for Feb. 1, according to the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association, which is in talks with the governor’s office.
Restaurants and bars could be subject to a nighttime curfew – similar to the 10 p.m. curfew in Ohio – to limit exposure, according to the MLBA.
Capacity limits are also likely once restaurants are allowed to reopen, and businesses taking additional health measures could be allowed to have more people capacity inside, according to the MLBA.
“While we are disappointed to be closed for another two weeks, finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel is certainly reassuring,” the MLBA said in a Facebook post.
The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association is making a final push in hopes of convincing Michigan executives to reopen indoor headquarters sooner. The MRLA on Tuesday launched a tool on its website that allows people to send a pre-written message to MDHHS Governor and Director Robert Gordon.
In the first few hours, 2,000 people used it, asking heads of state to reopen restaurants.
“Please reopen the restaurants inside when the current order expires on January 15 – livelihoods depend on it,” the pre-written message read, in addition to details on how the COVID-19 numbers of the Michigan have improved.
The MRLA is hoping state leaders decide not to extend the ban, but MRLA chief executive officer Justin Winslow is not convinced that will happen.
“Communication with the administration gives the impression that it has ceased to be useful or productive,” said Winslow. “Usually when this administration is really quiet with everyone, you tend to know where it’s going.”
MLive has contacted the governor’s office for comment.
Michigan officials said they look at three numbers when considering medical orders: cases, hospitalizations and the percentage of tests that come back positive.
All three have declined since the order began on November 18. But heads of state have not publicly released goal posts indicating what numbers need to be met for the reopening to take place. State leaders have also said in recent days that they are concerned about the new COVID-19 variant that has made its way into the United States.
Here’s how these three main metrics have changed in recent weeks.
Average of 7 days of new cases per day
- November 18: 6,932
- December 17: 4,234
- January 12: 3,029
COVID-19 hospitalizations
- November 18: 3,792
- December 17: 3,547
- January 12: 2,415
Percentage of positivity
- November 18: 13.45%
- December 17: 9.6%
- January 12: 7.16%
Other states, like Washington and Illinois, have made it clearer where the numbers need to be for restaurants to reopen or move to a higher capacity limit, Winslow said.
“I’m sure restaurateurs are equally frustrated in these two states,” said Winslow. “But at least they have the ability to make decisions because they can see the data, see the trends and know what’s coming. It doesn’t exist here in Michigan.
Business owners are left in limbo, Winslow said, calling it “surprisingly offensive.”
There have been far fewer outbreaks in restaurants since the on-site eating ban began, state data shows. At the start of the “hiatus” there were 65 active COVID-19 outbreaks in Michigan linked to restaurants and bars. Now there are 10.
“The number isn’t zero, as your potential risk is eating out,” Winslow said. “But there just isn’t a clear causal link between one and the other.”
One-third of Michigan’s hotel workers were unemployed in November, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry has been “badly” left out in Michigan, Winslow said.
He also advocates that Michigan move hotel workers through the immunization queue, as other states have done. Current estimates are that these employees will not be able to get vaccinated until the end of May, Winslow said.
“If you’re going to keep them closed for security reasons and you really believe the threat is as legitimate as you need to keep an industry closed for 143 days (and it’s not over) then you should prioritize that. Said Winslow.
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