EXECUTIVE ORDER
No. 2020-70
Temporary requirement to suspend activities that
are not necessary to sustain or protect life
Rescission of Executive Order 2020-59
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that can result in serious illness or death. It is caused by a new strain of coronavirus not previously identified in humans and easily spread from person to person. There is currently no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for this disease.
On March 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services identified the first two presumptive-positive cases of COVID-19 in Michigan. On that same day, I issued Executive Order 2020-4. This order declared a state of emergency across the state of Michigan under section 1 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, as amended, MCL 30.401 et seq., and the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945, 1945 PA 302, as amended, MCL 10.31 et seq.
In the weeks that followed, the virus spread across Michigan, bringing deaths in the thousands, confirmed cases in the tens of thousands, and deep disruption to this state’s economy, homes, and educational, civic, social, and religious institutions. On April 1, 2020, in response to the widespread and severe health, economic, and social harms posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I issued Executive Order 2020-33. This order expanded on Executive Order 2020-4 and declared both a state of emergency and a state of disaster across the State of Michigan under section 1 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the Emergency Management Act, and the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945. And on April 30, 2020, finding that COVID-19 had created emergency and disaster conditions across the State of Michigan, I issued Executive Order 2020-67 to continue the emergency declaration under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act, as well as Executive Order 2020-68 to issue new emergency and disaster declarations under the Emergency Management Act.
The Emergency Management Act vests the governor with broad powers and duties to “cop[e] with dangers to this state or the people of this state presented by a disaster or emergency,” which the governor may implement through “executive orders, proclamations, and directives having the force and effect of law.” MCL 30.403(1)-(2). Similarly, the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 provides that, after declaring a state of emergency, “the governor may promulgate reasonable orders, rules, and regulations as he or she considers necessary to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation within the affected area under control.” MCL 10.31(1).
To suppress the spread of COVID-19, to prevent the state’s health care system from being overwhelmed, to allow time for the production of critical test kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment, to establish the public health infrastructure necessary to contain the spread of infection, and to avoid needless deaths, it is reasonable and necessary to direct residents to remain at home or in their place of residence to the maximum extent feasible. To that end, on March 23, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-21, ordering all people in Michigan to stay home and stay safe. In Executive Orders 2020-42 and 2020-59, I extended that initial order, modifying its scope as needed and appropriate to match the ever-changing circumstances presented by this pandemic.
The measures put in place by Executive Orders 2020-21, 2020-42, and 2020-59 have been effective: the number of new confirmed cases each day has started to drop. Although the virus remains aggressive and persistent—on April 30, 2020, Michigan reported 41,379 confirmed cases and 3,789 deaths—the strain on our health care system has begun to relent, even as our testing capacity has increased. We can now start the process of gradually resuming in-person work and activities that were temporarily suspended under my prior orders. In so doing, however, we must move with care, patience, and vigilance, recognizing the grave harm that this virus continues to inflict on our state and how quickly our progress in suppressing it can be undone.
Accordingly, with this order, I find it reasonable and necessary to reaffirm the measures set forth in Executive Order 2020-59 and amend their scope. With Executive Order 2020-59, I ordered that certain previously suspended work and activities could resume, based on an evaluation of public health metrics and an assessment of the statewide risks and benefits. That evaluation remains ongoing, and based upon it, I find that we will soon be positioned to allow another segment of previously suspended work to resume. This work is permitted to resume on May 7, 2020, and includes construction, real-estate activities, and work that is traditionally and primarily performed outdoors. This work, like the resumed activities allowed under Executive Order 2020-59, will be subject to stringent precautionary measures. This partial and incremental reopening will allow my public health team to evaluate the effects of allowing these activities to resume, to assess the capacity of the health care system to respond adequately to any increases in infections, and to prepare for any increase in patients presenting to a health-care facility or provider. With this order, Executive Order 2020-59 is rescinded. This order will remain in effect until May 15, 2020.
Acting under the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and Michigan law, I order the following:
Businesses and operations must determine which of their workers are necessary to conduct minimum basic operations and inform such workers of that designation. Businesses and operations must make such designations in writing, whether by electronic message, public website, or other appropriate means. Workers need not carry copies of their designations when they leave the home or place of residence for work.
Any in-person work necessary to conduct minimum basic operations must be performed consistently with the social distancing practices and other mitigation measures described in section 11 of this order.
Consistent with the March 19, 2020 guidance document, critical infrastructure workers include some workers in each of the following sectors:
Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State of Michigan.
Gretchen Whitmer, Governor
Date: May 1, 2020
Time: 2:49 pm