| Dear Friends,
Although these past few weeks have been difficult, the Stay Home, Stay Safe order has helped our state flatten the curve and turn the tide on this pandemic. Our work isn’t over yet, which is why Gov. Whitmer announced today that she is extending the Stay Home, Stay Safe order until May 15 — with some important changes. You’ll find more information below.
Allowing Low-Risk Activities
Gov. Whitmer’s order allows low-risk in-person activities to resume, including:
- Lawn care, pest control, landscaping operations, and working at nurseries and garden stores with enhanced social distancing rules;
- Processing and fulfilling remote orders for delivery or curbside pick-up;
- Performing bicycle maintenance and repair;
- Maintenance and groundskeeping to maintain the safety and sanitation of places of outdoor recreation;
- Moving or storage operations with enhanced social distancing rules; and
- Outdoor recreation, including boating and golfing.
Enhanced Social Distancing for Low-Risk Activities
We still need to do our best to keep those engaged in these low-risk activities safe, that’s why the order requires these activities to:
- Prohibit gatherings of any size in which people cannot maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet from each other;
- Prohibit workers from occupying the same vehicle at the same time;
- Limit in-person contact with clients as fully as possible;
- Provide personal protective equipment like gloves, goggles, face shields and masks as appropriate; and
- Adopt protocols to limit the sharing of tools and equipment as much as possible and ensure frequent and thorough cleaning of these tools, equipment and frequently touched surfaces.
Access to Elective Procedures
All hospitals, freestanding surgical outpatient facilities, dental facilities and state-operated outpatient facilities may perform elective procedures that are necessary to preserve the health and safety of a patient, determined by their licensed medical provider.
Staying Safe in Public
To keep Michiganders safe and prevent another spike of COVID-19 as we begin the transition back into public spaces, Gov. Whitmer’s order requires:
- Any individual able to medically tolerate a face covering, to wear one – including homemade masks, scarfs, or bandanas – when in any enclosed public space.
- All businesses or operations whose workers perform in-person work to provide, at minimum, non-medical grade face coverings to their employees.
- Supplies of N95 masks and surgical masks to be reserved as much as possible for health care professionals, first responders and other critical workers who interact with the public.
Face Mask Assistance
I partnered with the Minority Health Task Force and the North Oakland NAACP to get 1,000 KN95 face masks for those who need them most and have not been able to get one. Because we have such a limited supply, we are prioritizing these makes for the elderly and those with lower incomes with limits of one per person.
Please contact my office directly if you or someone you know is in need. My contact information is below.
Sincerely,
State Representative Brenda Carter
29th House District |
