Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday the state’s stay-at-home order would be extended until May 28.
Whitmer says manufacturing across the state can now resume May 11, but businesses must adopt measures to protect workers from contracting the virus. They must also designate entry points at every facility and suspend entry of nonessential in-person visits, including tours, reports MLive.
The state’s large auto manufacturers will reopen on May 18. The move to reopen is part of an announced plan to start slowly phasing the state into a “new normal” in which the economy can safely return.
Whitmer said the state would continue working on COVID-19 testing capabilities and monitor strict social distancing.
Some outdoor activities, such as golfing and motorized boating, will also be allowed with caution.
“We know that even in this phase, we are still safer at home,” Whitmer said in a press conference. “While we can reengage in more things, we’ve got to be smart about it.”
Whitmer’s strict measures on the state have received national attention and been met with a sea of protesters last month opposing the state’s strict lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Up until the governor’s latest announcement, the stay-at-home order prohibited gatherings of any size outside a household as well as any in-person business and activities deemed nonessential.
Michiganders were not allowed to travel to in-state vacation residences or use a motorboat. Violators could be fined or charged with a misdemeanor, according to NBC News. Like many states, social distancing, of each person staying 6 feet apart from another, was also enforced.
Michigan has seen almost 44,000 cases of the coronavirus and almost 4,200 deaths.
