LANSING, Mich. _ Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday issued a "stay-at-home" order to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus, ordering Michigan residents to stay home except for essential purposes and telling non-essential businesses to stop asking employees to report to work.
The order, which was highly anticipated and is effective starting at midnight EDT tonight, draws on Whitmer's broad executive powers under a state of emergency. Though sweeping, it includes exemptions for essentials such as:
_ Shopping for food or medicine
_ Getting needed medical treatment
_ Getting fuel
_ Walking a pet
_ Walking for exercise
_ Workers delivering food and other needed supplies to people's homes
_ Staffing to allow maintenance of "minimum basic operations" for many employers, even if their companies are not considered "critical infrastructure" needed to "sustain or protect life"
_ Child care, financial services such as banks, and workers and volunteers, such as those providing food and shelter, needed to help disadvantaged people affected by the pandemic.
_ Critical manufacturing
_ Individual travel to return to Michigan from another state, travel to another state from Michigan, to travel from one residence to another in Michigan, or to travel to comply with a court order
Essential workers such as police, fire, hospital, grocery store and pharmacy workers are also exempted, as are their workplaces. Public highways and streets remain open.
Violating the order is a criminal misdemeanor, the order says, and could also result in businesses being shut down.
The order, which is in place through April 13, also bans all public and private gatherings of any size outside of a family home. An earlier order had limited gatherings to no more than 50.
"In just 13 days, we've gone from zero to over 1,000 COVID-19 cases," Whitmer said. "This is an unprecedented crisis that requires all of us working together to protect our families and our communities. The most effective way we can slow down the virus is to stay home. I know this will be hard, but it will be temporary. If we all come together, get serious, and do our part by staying home, we can stay safe and save lives."
"Taking aggressive action to protect our communities is the most important thing we can do to mitigate further spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief deputy for health and chief medical executive for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. "If we do this now, we can make sure our hospitals and health care workers are prepared to take care of the sickest people. It is crucial that people do the right thing by staying home and staying safe."
Whitmer has repeatedly advised Michigan residents to stay at home except for essentials. The major differences in issuing an order are that it requires businesses deemed non-essential to stop calling their employees in to work, or in some cases significantly scale back their operation and it establishes potential enforcement and penalties for violations.
"This order must be construed broadly to prohibit in-person work that is not necessary to sustain or protect life," the order says.
Those who do leave their homes must keep a 6-foot distance from others who are not part of their household.
The president of the Michigan State Medical Society issued a statement supporting Whitmer's order.
"We are grateful for _ and support _ Gov. Whitmer's executive order today asking all Michigan residents to stay at home, in an effort to flatten the curve," said Dr. Mohammed Arsiwala. "This is the most important thing we can all do to protect the most vulnerable in our community. It is also the most important thing we can all do to return our lives to what we remember and miss."
Businesses deemed "critical infrastructure," largely exempt from the order along with essentials such as law enforcement and health services, include:
_ Food and agriculture
_ Energy
_ Waste and wastewater
_ Transportation and logistics
_ Public works
_ Communications and infrastructure technology, including news media
_ Essential court functions
_ Critical manufacturing
_ Hazardous materials
_ Financial services
_ Chemical supply chains and safety
_ Defense industrial base
_ Child care workers
_ Workers at designated suppliers and distribution centers
_ Workers who perform critical labor union functions, provided they work remotely as much as possible
_ Workers in the insurance industry, only to the extent their work can not be done remotely
_ Workers that provide food, shelter and other necessities for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals, who need advantage as a result of the emergency, including the disabled
_ Other community-based government operations and essential functions
Whitmer's move, which is sometimes though not always accurately known as a "shelter-in-place" order, follows similar actions by governors in Ohio, New Jersey, California, Illinois, New York, Delaware, Kentucky and Louisiana. The orders vary in detail and there are other states with similar orders that apply only to specific cities.
Asked if automobile makers and their parts suppliers would be considered critical infrastructure under the order, Whitmer said they would be if they were making essential equipment related to the crisis, such as ventilators.
The Detroit Three carmakers have temporarily shut down all their U.S. assembly plants. Their parts warehouses continue to operate using paid volunteer workers.
Trial courts will continue to perform essential functions, including arraignments for in-custody defendants, review and determination of requests for search warrants and personal protection orders, certain child protective proceedings, and critical issues regarding child support and child custody, among others, but will make greater use of technology such as video conferencing, the State Court Administrative Office said.
"As the crisis has grown, Michigan's courts have shown they are up to the challenge of both reducing exposure to risk in court facilities while simultaneously innovating to ensure access to courts remains uninterrupted," said Chief Justice Bridget McCormack.
Those workers deemed necessary to maintain "minimum business operations" are defined as "those whose in-person presence is strictly necessary to allow the business or operation to maintain the value of inventory and equipment, care for animals, ensure security, process transactions (including payroll and employee benefits), or facilitate the ability of other workers to work remotely.
Companies must inform "critical infrastructure workers" of their designation and put it in writing, though such designations can be made orally until the end of March, the order says.
Also under the order, businesses and other operations not deemed critical infrastructure must determine which of their workers are necessary to conduct minimum basic operations and inform such workers of that designation. The designations must be made in writing, whether by electronic message, public website, or some other means, though they can be made orally through March 31, the order says.
Those are designated workers who "allow the business or operation to maintain the value of inventory and equipment, care for animals, ensure security, process transactions (including payroll and employee benefits), or facilitate the ability of other workers to work remotely."
Whitmer, who declared a state of emergency when Michigan had its first positive tests for coronavirus March 10, earlier closed the state's schools, bars, gyms, theaters and other major gathering places, and ordered restaurants closed except for carry out and delivery services. On the weekend, she ordered hair and nail salons, barber shops and other personal service shops, such as tattoo parlors, closed.
There were more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases in Michigan as of Sunday, and at least nine deaths.
U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Mich., said he has supported Whitmer's actions up until now, but believes Monday's order will unnecessarily hurt the economy because it will force many businesses such as real estate agents to close, when he believes they can operate safely through physical distancing.
It would be better to keep the "stay home" message advisory, said Mitchell, who believes Whitmer is bowing to pressure after similar action was taken in other states, including neighboring Ohio on Sunday.
But some Michigan business organizations, some of which which had publicly expressed concern about the proposed order, as well as the Republican leader of the Michigan Senate, were supportive.
Michigan has moved into a new phase in our battle against COVID-19," said Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, a Clarklake Republican. "It is a step none of us wanted to see happen, but one that is necessary. Our response to these orders could be the determining factor in how long the virus impacts our state."
Business Leaders for Michigan issued a statement that said the order "will impact all of us but was necessary to ensure that all Michiganders have the best opportunity to remain healthy through this crisis."
"We understand that the economic impacts of this period will be painful for Michigan's residents and businesses, and we stand ready to help the Governor and our state manage both the mitigation process and the recovery that will follow," the statement said.
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce was studying the order in detail and would have a comment later in the day, said President and CEO Rich Studley, who had expressed confidence Monday that Whitmer would strike the correct balance between protecting health and the economy.
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a Flint Democrat, said Whitmer "made the hard choice, and the right choice, to require Michiganders to stay in their homes for at least three weeks _ with exceptions for getting groceries, going to medical appointments and getting fresh air outside _ to help curb the spread of COVID-19."
The Michigan Republican Party issued a statement that did not comment on the order itself, but said Whitmer was spending too much time on national TV.
"At a time when Michigan needs Gretchen Whitmer to lead, she is spending too much of her time seeking the national spotlight." said Laura Cox, the party chairwoman.
