MDHHS Issues Three Week Epidemic Order as Coronavirus Cases Surge in Michigan
High schools will halt in-person instruction and bars and restaurants must stop indoor dining under the new order.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new emergency order in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus as cases nationwide and across the state continue to surge.
Nearly 45,000 people statewide were diagnosed with coronavirus in the past week. More than 400 have died. Michigan is currently experiencing exponential growth in COVID-19 cases. The number is nearly four times higher than during the peak of the virus surge in early April.
The order is issued under the authority of the Michigan Public Health Code.
New restrictions take effect on Wednesday and target indoor social gatherings and group activities.
Under the order, indoor residential gatherings are limited to two households at any one time, but the MDHHS is strongly urging families to pick a single other household to interact with over the next three weeks.
Bars and restaurants cannot seat customers indoors, but can remain open for outdoor dining, carry-out and delivery. Casinos, movie theaters, and group exercise classes will be closed, though gyms can remain open for individual exercise. High schools and colleges must suspend in-person learning for three weeks.
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