Whitmer: Indoor dining could reopen Feb. 1
Restaurants have been closed or at limited capacity since March
Michigan’s ban on indoor dining has been extended through the end of January. Restaurants may be able to open for indoor dining on Feb.1, but it is not a certainty.
“If numbers continue to head in the right direction, our hope is that we will be able to resume indoor dining with strong safety measures in place on Feb. 1,’’ Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Indoor dining was shut down for three weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Nov. 18 by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. This is the third extension of the order which would have expired this Friday, Jan. 15.
“We’re working on a path to allow indoor dining at restaurants with safety measures such as mask requirements, capacity limits and a curfew,’’ Whitmer said.
Restaurants have been one of the hardest hit businesses in the state since the pandemic started in March. Originally they were shut down from March 16 through June 9, allowing carryout only. When they reopened in June it was at 50 percent capacity for indoor and outdoor dining. According to the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association, 2,000 restaurants in Michigan have permanently closed due to the shutdowns.
“Indoor dining brings risks because it involves taking off masks. We will have more to say soon about steps to mitigate these risks as best as possible based on our experience with the pandemic, reducing the number of people in restaurants and improving ventilation, in particular,’’ Whitmer said.
She warned that now is not the time to ease up on safety measures like social distancing, mask wearing and hand hygiene.
“Our actions on Feb. 1 will depend on what happens with the pandemic between now and then,’’ Whitmer said.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, was not
happy with the extension of the indoor dining ban.
“Today’s announcement is another display of the tone-deaf response we continue to hear from the Governor. Overreach by the Governor has crippled an entire industry and peripheral supply chain businesses,’’ Shirkey said in a statement.
“Further, the notion that she can select a perfect time for restaurants to open as opposed to allowing these local businesses to open when they are ready, continues the ‘government knows best’ attitude from the executive branch that is causing people and capital to leave Michigan,’’ Shirkey added.
When pushed on what makes Feb. 1 a good date to reopen instead of this Friday, Whitmer said she wants to continue watching numbers for the next two weeks.
“It’s important we get this right. We want to ensure that consumers, customers and workforce alike knows that when reengagement happens they are going to be safe. That’s crucial,’’ Whitmer said. “Consumer confidence is a very important part of our economic resurgence and something we all have to be focused on as well.”
Since “the pause” started on Nov. 18, the percent positivity rate has dropped from 12.56 to 7.16 percent and the case rate has dropped from 512.9 per million to 265 per million, according to MDHHS statistics. Also. the number of hospital beds used for COVID-19 patients was more than 15 percent on Nov. 18 and is now 12.1 percent
“The governor’s continuation of this pause without a plan—now expanding to 75 days—is without parallel in the nation in terms of its unwillingness or inability to provide leadership to a decimated industry and its workforce, said There are more than 100,000 unemployed hospitality workers and thousands of small operators on the edge of bankruptcy all waiting for hope and direction, and once again it did not come. This is unacceptable and we should all demand more accountability,’’ MRLA CEO Justin Winslow said in a statement.
The MRLA released results of a survey in mid-December that showed 5,600, or 33 percent, of Michigan restaurant operators say it is unlikely they will still be in business in six months
“Michigan’s restaurants have been closed for more days than any other state since the onset of the pandemic and Michigan stands alone as the only remaining statewide closure of dining rooms without a discernible, data-driven path to reopen and fully reintegrate in the economy. This, too, is unacceptable and we should all demand more accountability,’’ Winslow added.
Whitmer said more details on the possibility of allowing indoor dining will be released in coming days.
“It’s important we get this right. We want to ensure that consumers, customers and workforce alike knows that when reengagement happens they are going to be safe. That’s crucial. Consumer confidence is a very important part of our economic resurgence and something we all have to be focused on as well.” — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer