Mich. stay-home order runs till May 15
Governor unrelenting despite GOP pushback
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday that Michigan’s stay-at-home order remains in effect through May 15 despite Republicans’ refusal to extend her underlying coronavirus emergency declaration, as she amended it to allow construction, real estate and more outdoor work to resume in person next week.
The Democratic governor, who may be sued by the Gop-led Legislature, addressed reporters the same day that President Donald Trump tweeted she should “make a deal” with conservatives who protested her restrictions at the Capitol a day earlier.
She denounced the protest as “disturbing,” noting that there were swastikas, Confederate flags, nooses and some people with assault weapons, who “do not represent who we are as Michiganders.”
“We’re not in a political crisis where we should just negotiate and find some common ground here. We’re in a public health crisis,” Whitmer said. “We’re in the midst of a global pandemic that has already killed almost 4,000 people in our state.”
Whitmer said she will continue listening to epidemiologists, public health experts and business leaders, “not to pollsters and not to people with political agendas.”
The state health department reported nearly 1,000 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 77 more deaths, bringing the totals to more than 42,300 cases and 3,866 deaths.
Late Thursday, Whitmer issued directives both proclaiming that the coronavirus emergency continues under a 1945 law and declaring new states of emergency and disaster under a 1976 law after lawmakers refused her request for a 28-day extension. The declarations are the foundation of her stay-home order and other measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Republicans, who want more input on gradually restarting the economy and say a ban on elective medical and dental procedures should be lifted, also voted to authorize a lawsuit challenging her authority and actions. They question the legality of her stay-home measure since the Legislature did not lengthen the state of emergency.
But Whitmer said the stay-home order rests an gubernatorial powers in the 1945 law, which does not require legislative consent for an extension.
Last week, Whitmer let some businesses reopen, such as plant nurseries and bike repair shops as well as stores selling nonessential supplies for curbside pickup or delivery.
On Friday, she allowed those who perform work that is traditionally and primarily done outdoors — forestry workers, power equipment technicians, parking enforcers — to resume Thursday.
Construction workers, real estate agents, appraisers, brokers, inspectors and surveyors also will be able to work in person. So will manufacturing workers who make items like partitions, cubicles and furniture that will help businesses modify their workplaces amid the pandemic.