Starting Monday, December 21st, the MDHHS epidemic order will allow in-person learning at high schools and the reopening of bowling alleys, casinos, and other entertainment venues. Unfortunately for restaurant and bar owners, their establishments must remain closed for another 26 days until January 15, 2020. The order also allows in-person classes to resume at colleges and universities, making way for on-campus learning for the winter semester.
While Governor Whitmer’s office claims that these changes are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19, some are questioning the rationale for such changes. The State of Michigan’s Coronavirus website contains data on outbreaks of COVID-19 throughout the state, and the highest number of new outbreaks is consistently related to long-term care facilities and K-12 schools, with those two sectors also claiming the highest numbers of ongoing outbreaks.
Colleges and Universities have experienced 31 ongoing outbreaks, and ongoing outbreak data specifically related to schools shows 2,274 cases at Michigan State University and 1,101 cases at Grand Valley State.
The number of ongoing outbreaks related to bars in the state is 4, while the number of ongoing outbreaks related to restaurants in the state is 25, only 2 of those were related to patrons – 23 were employee related.
Michigan State Senator Dan Lauwers, 25th District, released a statement Friday expressing his opinion about the recent continuation of restaurant closures:
“The governor does not trust Michiganders to act responsibly. Though the data does not indicate that restaurants are prominent sources of virus spread, the governor — inexplicably — has shut down restaurants again.”
“She is unable or unwilling to tell small businesses what level of infection or hospitalization rate Michigan must achieve for them to reopen safely. Instead, workers, business owners and job providers are left waiting for press conferences, only then to simply be told they need to remain shuttered.”
“Indoor dining at restaurants has been banned for more than 100 days throughout this year and counting. This has resulted in the loss of billions of dollars in sales and the laying off of most of the state’s restaurant workforce.”
“The health department’s own data indicates that, of the COVID-19 outbreaks that have occurred, only 4.3% can be attributed to restaurants.”
Lauwers is calling on the governor or Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon to “provide Michiganders with objective standards and/or COVID-19 case rates for restaurant owners to be able to take action and make plans in order to reopen.”
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
