Gov. Whitmer to lift Michigan stay home order, allow bars and restaurants to reopen June 8
LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to announce Monday that southern and central Michigan will join northern Michigan in Phase 4 of her six-phase plan to reopen the state's economy and that Michigan bars and restaurants can reopen at 50% capacity June 8.
Michigan's stay-at-home order would essentially be lifted, though other restrictions would remain in place, The Associated Press reported.
Whitmer is moving six remaining regions comprising 93% of the state’s population to phase 4 — “improving” — two weeks after she announced that two regions in northern Michigan could advance to that stage, AP said. Some businesses where close contact is necessary — gyms, hair salons, indoor theaters and casinos — will remain closed.
Retailers can reopen to customers without an appointment on Thursday and restaurants can offer dine-in service on June 8 — both with capacity limits, AP said. Day camps for children and pools can open June 8. Groups of up to 100 can gather outside with social distancing, up from a threshold of 10.
In-home services such as housecleaning can resume. Gyms and fitness centers can offer outdoor activities such as classes, practices, training sessions and games as long as participants, coaches and spectators stay 6 feet apart.
Whitmer said her goal is to shift the state to phase 5 — “containing” — before July 4.
“While Michiganders are no longer required to stay home, we must all continue to be smart and practice social distancing, and encourage those who meet the criteria to get tested for COVID-19,” she said in a statement before a scheduled news conference.
On May 18, Whitmer announced that Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula had advanced to Phase 4. She also announced that bars and restaurants in northern Michigan would be allowed to reopen with restricted occupancy. That's a change associated with Phase 5 of the reopening plan.
Under MI Safe Start" plan the governor announced May 7, Phase 4 is the "improving" state of Michigan's economic restart, when cases, hospitalizations and deaths are "clearly declining." Phase 5 is the "containing" stage, when there are continued case and death rate improvements, with outbreaks quickly contained.
Several of the Phase 4 elements are already permitted throughout Michigan, such outdoor work, manufacturing, limited retail sales, and gatherings of up to 10 people, with social distancing, which Whitmer OK'd on May 21.
Also permitted in Phase 4 is the opening of additional lower-risk businesses and office work, with safety measures, and public transportation. Use of face masks and social distancing would still be called for.
Personal service shops that require close contact with customers, including barber shops and hair and nail salons, remain closed in Phase 4, as set out in the plan. So do theaters, gyms, and casinos.
Whitmer's May 18 announcement reopening bars and restaurants only applied to the Upper Peninsula and Alpena, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon and Wexford counties in the northern Lower Peninsula.
Michigan's stay-at-home order is currently set to continue through June 12. The state of emergency related to COVID-19 runs through June 19.
