Michiganders will be able to dine indoors in restaurants again from Feb. 1, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced at a news conference on Friday.
“The break has worked,” said Whitmer. “The efforts we have made together to protect our families, frontline workers and hospitals have drastically reduced the number of cases and saved lives. Now we are confident that restaurants will be able to dine indoors again on February 1 with security measures.”
Before the three-week epidemic of the Department of Health and Human Services launched on Nov. 15 to curtail social gatherings, Michigan had 734 cases of Coivd-19 per million residents, Whitmer said. The state has now seen a 70% reduction to 177 cases per million, according to the governor.
“I know this pandemic has hurt our restaurant owners, our restaurant employees and all of their families. I want to thank those who have made incredible sacrifices and contributed their part on behalf of our protection of our communities from Covid, ”said Whitmer.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive of the Department of Health and Human Services, further clarified that restaurants will operate at 25% capacity and adhere to a 10pm curfew.
“I am happy that we can continue in this way. We know our restaurant owners want to protect their customers and help put an end to this pandemic, ”Khaldun said, but said she wanted to remind people that scientists and doctors have reiterated that being indoors, without a mask on, a of the riskier activities people can do when it comes to spreading Covid-19.
So now people have a choice. The safest thing to do, especially if you are elderly, if you have underlying medical conditions, or if you are living with someone who is older or has underlying medical conditions, ”said Khaldun. “The safest thing is not to be in a restaurant, but we still want you to order from them, you can support them with takeout or eat outside.”