Michigan Issues New Restrictions On Gatherings As Cases Surge

MICHIGAN — State health officials on Thursday tightened restrictions on indoor gatherings and shifted the Traverse City region backward in the state's reopening plan, saying that coronavirus hospitalizations have doubled in the last three weeks and the statewide death rate has risen for five straight weeks.

Michigan presently has 172 cases per million people and positivity of tests has increased from about 2 percent to 5.5 percent, and both indicators have been increasing for over four weeks, officials said.

“The only way to beat COVID is to act on what we’ve learned since March,” MDHHS Director Robert Gordon said. “Wear masks. Keep six feet of distance. Wash hands. And avoid the indoor get-togethers where we have seen COVID explode.”

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As part of the newly extended orders, the state reduced the maximum gathering size for indoor gatherings from 500 to 50 people.

This change responds to global evidence that COVID’s explosive growth is powered by events where large-scale outbreaks have occurred, and that indoor settings are as much as 20 times likelier to drive outbreaks than outdoor settings, officials said. Michigan has 34 outbreaks related to social events such, officials said. An additional 19 outbreaks of up to 52 cases are linked to church services, which are exempt from enforcement under the order, according to officials.

Indoor party sizes at a single table is now restricted to six people for bars, restaurants and social events, officials said, citing the likelihood that the virus could spread while people eat without wearing masks.

Like many other businesses in Michigan, bars and restaurants will also be required to take names and contact information to support effective contact tracing if necessary, officials said. Research published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that visiting restaurants is a risk factor for COVID positivity, and currently there are 12 outbreaks in Michigan associated with bars or restaurants with currently active clusters up to 12 cases.

“The orders that MDHHS has issued are centered on keeping the public safe and following best practices to reduce the spread of this deadly virus,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS. “The alarming surge we are now seeing is exactly why we were so worried about the fall season. We must remain vigilant, so we prevent long-term health consequences and unnecessary deaths, and protect our hospital capacity and the health of our frontline health workers.”

Traverse City Region Moves to Phase 4

Because cases are now at a high level statewide, the order treats all regions of the state the same. The Traverse City region previously had fewer restrictions due to a fewer number of COVID-19 cases, but the area has now been moved into Phase 4 of the MI Safe Start system, joining the rest of the state.

Stronger Recommendations for Indoor Social Gatherings

Alongside the rerelease of Thursday's order, MDHHS published strong recommendations for indoor social gatherings, including at Thanksgiving. Because no one measure confers complete protection in a gathering, the guidance recommends that individuals take multiple steps together, such as getting together outside whenever possible and to limit inside time together.

New Measures to Enhance Enforcement

While continuing to focus on encouraging voluntary compliance with its Emergency Orders, MDHHS has also issued rules that set forth fines for violations of these epidemic orders. Violations are punishable by a civil fine up to $1,000 and may also be treated as a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months or a fine of not more than $200, or both. the state said.

Failure to comply with orders may violate a business or professional’s licensure requirements or present a workplace safety violation, according to authorities.

“The Michigan State Police continues to encourage Michiganders to follow all public health guidance and orders set in place to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Col. Joe Gasper, director of the Michigan State Police. “It’s important that we each take personal responsibility for our actions and that we also encourage those around us to do the same.”