Oakland mask edict questioned
Hackel: ‘If youmake a law, you better be able to enforce it’
Macomb County will not follow neighboring Oakland County’s move to order residents to wear face masks when they leave their homes, but still “strongly encourages” people to observe restrictions to curb COVID-19.
County Executive Mark Hack el on Sunday called Oakland County’s edict a “toothless tiger” because it doesn’t carry the weight of the lawbehind it to enforce the measure.
“Who is going to enforce it, the health department or their police departments? If you make a law, you better be able to enforce it,” Hackel said.
The Oakland County Health Department late Saturday issued an order requiring residents to wear masks when they leave their homes. That came a day after the Michigan Supreme Court struck down a 1945 law used by Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer to mandate face coverings and issue restrictions to curb the coronavirus.
That also follows a Republican legislative leader’s declaration that he opposes continuing the Democratic governor’s statewide face covering requirement. The court ruling, whichwill not take effect for at least 19 days, gives lawmakers a role because their approval will be needed to extend a state of emergency that underpins Whitmer’s orders.
Also Sunday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said her office will no longer enforce the executive orders through criminal prosecution in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday. But Nessel noted her decision is not binding on other law enforcement agencies or state departments with independent enforcement authority.
“If it weren’t for the governor’s actions, countless more of our friends, family and neighbors would have been lost to COVID-19,” Nessel said in a statement. “We can respect both the court’s decision and the advice of medical experts by continuing with these important measures voluntarily.”
Oakland County Health Officer Leigh-Anne Stafford cited her authority to take emergency steps to control an epidemic under a 1978 state law, calling it her “solemn responsibility.”
“Health and science experts agree that facial coverings are critical to controlling the virus,” said David Coulter, executive of the county near Detroit.
Oakland may issue additional orders, including to limit capacity at restaurants and bars, in coming days.
Other counties could follow suit with similar restrictions.
But not Macomb, whose officials were among the first to question the legality of the governor’s executive orders on attempts to control the outbreak.
“It was very disconcerting to see one personmaking these decisions,” Hackel said ofWhitmer’s handling of the pandemic. “Bottom line — lessons learned. You don’t do something unless the legislature approves it through creation of law. As a county, a mask mandate flies in the face of a representative democracy.”
Hackel said he “strongly encourages” people to follow guidelines issued by theCenters forDiseaseControl and Prevention, including wearing a face mask when with others, washing hands frequently, and staying home if you don’t feel well.
Whitmer has said many of her measures will continue under “alternative sources of authority” that werenot at issue inthe high court’s 4-3 decision, when four Republican-nominated justices joined the majority and three Democratic nominees dissented. David Viviano, a Macomb County judge appointed by Rick
Snyder, concurred but only in part.
Whitmer has not elaborated what steps she may take. But the state health department previously mirrored earlier versions of some of her most sweeping orders in its own orders — requiring masks, limiting restaurants to 50% of their normal seating, capping gathering and event sizes, and mandating people to work from home if they can.
On Sunday, Whitmer told CNN that the ruling “undermined” orders she issued to “save lives. We’ve saved thousands of lives.” She urged people to vote for two Democratic nominees in November’s Supreme Court election, when a seat held by a GOP nominee is opening due his retirement.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and other Republicans have criticized the governor’s handling of the outbreak while the public has backed her in polling. Shirkey made clear Saturday that he does not support a statewide mask mandate.
“I do encourage everyone to honor whatever policies individual businesses, organizations and schools establish,” he said in social media posts. In an earlier statement he released after the ruling, he said it is “time for bipartisan action to transition from government operating in fear of the virus to government managing life in the presence of the virus.”
Patrick Wright directs the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, the legal arm of a conservative think tank based inmidMichigan that helped bring the case before the Supreme Court.
The governor “must include the Legislature in confronting the pandemic,” he said. “It’s possible to protect lives without depriving the people of fundamental constitutional rights.”
Friday’s court ruling came as COVID-19 continues to flare up around the state, particularly in the Upper Peninsula.
Michigan’s seven- day case average, 985, is the highest it has been since April 13, according to Johns Hopkins University. The daily death toll, about 11, has remained steady since June, however, after peaking at 157, also on April 13.
The seven- day positivity rate — a key metric — has risen over the past two weeks from 2.4% to 3.1%, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
Hackel noted the announcement by President Donald Trump that he has tested positive underscores the serious nature of deadly virus.
“Some are making it a partisan issue, but anyone, anytime can catch it even with the safest precautions,” he said. “Around herewe are stillnot seeing a lot of deaths or hospitalizations from COVID-19. But for most people, I think it woke them up to the reality that ‘ maybe I shouldn’t go to a large gathering, maybe I need to wear a mask.’”