May 18, 2020
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.
Since then, 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, 2020-59, 2020-70, and 2020-77, I extended that initial order, modifying its scope as needed and as appropriate to match the ever-changing circumstances presented by this pandemic.
The measures put in place by these executive orders have been effective: the number of new confirmed cases each day has started to drop. Although the virus remains aggressive and persistent—on May 15, 2020, Michigan reported 50,079 confirmed cases and 4,825 deaths—the strain on our health care system has begun to relent, even as our testing capacity has increased. We have now begun 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.
With Executive Order 2020-77, 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: laboratory research. This work, like the resumed activities allowed under Executive Order 2020-77, 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.
Acting under the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and Michigan law, I order the following:
1. Workers necessary to conduct research activities in a laboratory setting are considered workers who perform resumed activities within the meaning of section 10 of Executive Order 2020-77.
2. Research laboratories, but not laboratories that perform diagnostic testing, must adhere to the workplace safeguards described in subsection 11(a) through (h) of Executive Order 2020-77, as well as the following:
(a) Assign dedicated entry point(s) and/or times into lab buildings.
(b) Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for workers, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering a worksite, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with, if possible, a temperature screening.
(c) Create protocols and/or checklists as necessary to conform to the facility’s COVID-19 preparedness and response plan under section 11(a) of Executive Order 2020-77.
(d) Train workers on adherence to the facility’s preparedness response plan.
(e) Suspend all non-essential in-person visitors (including visiting scholars and undergraduate students) until further notice.
(f) Train workers on the proper use of lab protection and personal protective equipment.
(g) Establish and implement a plan for distributing face coverings.
(h) Limit the number of people per square feet of floor space permitted in a particular laboratory at one time.
(i) Close open workspaces, cafeterias, and conference rooms.
(j) As necessary, use tape on the floor to demarcate socially distanced workspaces and to create one-way traffic flow.
(k) Require all office and dry lab work to be conducted remotely.
(l) Minimize the use of shared lab equipment and shared lab tools and create protocols for disinfecting lab equipment and lab tools.
(m) Provide disinfecting supplies and require workers to wipe down their work stations at least twice daily.
(n) Implement an audit and compliance procedure to ensure that cleaning criteria are followed.
(o) Establish a clear reporting process for any symptomatic individual or any individual with a confirmed case of COVID-19, including the notification of lab leaders and the maintenance of a central log.
(p) Clean and disinfect the work site when a worker is sent home with symptoms or with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
(q) Send any potentially exposed co-workers home if there is a positive case in the facility.
(r) Restrict all non-essential travel, including conference events.
3. Consistent with MCL 10.33 and MCL 30.405(3), a willful violation of this order is a misdemeanor.
Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State of Michigan.
Click to view the full PDF of the executive order.
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