Detroit Regional Chamber > Gov. Whitmer Extends State of Emergency Through Oct. 27

Gov. Whitmer Extends State of Emergency Through Oct. 27

September 30, 2020
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended the State of Emergency until Oct. 27, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Executive Order 2020-186 will allow the state to continue to mobilize resources and take the reasonable and necessary steps to protect Michiganders and their families. The governor also extended four executive orders to protect Michigan families and our most vulnerable populations.

Where Michigan was once among the states most heavily hit by COVID-19, its per-capita rate of new daily cases has plateaued at a level well below the national average. Despite gradually reopening our economy, Michigan’s seven-day case positivity rate has remained between 3.0% and 3.7% since early July. Over the same time period, case growth has also remained within a narrow band of 61 to 71 daily new cases per million population, by date of symptom onset.

The health, economic, and social harms of the COVID-19 pandemic remain widespread and severe, and they continue to constitute a statewide emergency and disaster. Though local health departments have some limited capacity to respond to cases as they arise within their jurisdictions, state emergency operations are necessary to bring this pandemic under control in Michigan and to build and maintain infrastructure to stop the spread of COVID-19, trace infections, and to quickly direct additional resources to hot-spots as they emerge.

The four other executive orders the governor signed today include:

  • Executive Order 2020-187 which protects vulnerable populations and strengthens our economic recovery by extending through Oct. 31 the Governor’s previous order allowing business to be conducted remotely through expanded use of e-notaries and e-signatures.
  • Executive Order 2020-188 which extends the limited and temporary restrictions on the entry of individuals into health care facilities, residential care facilities, congregate care facilities, and juvenile justice facilities. The Department of Health and Human Services will continue to issue orders to specify exceptions to this order.
  • Executive Order 2020-189 which extends through Oct. 31 protections for prison and jail populations through enhanced cleaning protocols and implementation of testing protocols by Michigan Department of Corrections prisons and any jails that transfer inmates to MDOC prisons.
  • Executive Order 2020-190 which adds protections for workers and customers at food-selling establishments to the Workplace Safeguards order, including the requirement to maintain two hours a week of reserved shopping time for vulnerable populations.

View the official press release from the Governor’s office.