Michigan Closes High School, Indoor Restaurants, Casinos, Movie Theaters and Organized Sports Due To COVID-19
LANSING (AP/ CBS) - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration on Sunday ordered high schools and colleges to stop in-person classes, closed restaurants to indoor dining, and stopped organized sports — including the football playoffs — in a bid to curb Michigan's spiking coronavirus cases.
The restrictions will begin Wednesday and last three weeks. They are not nearly as sweeping as when the governor issued a stay-at-home order last spring, but they are extensive.
An order was written by the state health department also limits indoor residential gatherings to no more than two households, restricts outdoor gatherings to 25 people, and closes entertainment facilities such as theaters, bowling alleys, and indoor water parks. Gyms and pools can stay open for individual exercise but not group classes.
The move came as the state faces surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
In the spring, we listened to public health experts and saved thousands of lives together.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) November 16, 2020
I am personally asking each and every one of you to channel that same energy and do everything in your power to protect our communities from this virus and save lives again.
"If we don't act now, thousands more will die, and our hospitals will continue to be overwhelmed," Whitmer said. "We can get through this together by listening to health experts once again and taking action right now to slow the spread of this deadly virus."
Robert Gordon, director of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said "indoor gatherings are the great source of spread, and sharply limiting them is our focus."
© 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.