Michigan’s Restrictions Are Rolled Back Today – Here’s What’s New
Today (June 1), Michigan relaxed a large part of its existing pandemic health and safety orders.
The plan is to lift all orders by July 1.
“Because so many Michiganders did their part and stepped up to get vaccinated, we are able to return to normal more quickly,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement.
She added, “Our state is closer and closer to being back to normal. Now, Michiganders may celebrate safely with family and friends, with less worry of getting COVID-19. We have all been working hard for this moment for over the past year, and I am thankful for every Michigander who has gotten vaccinated to keep themselves, their family, and our communities safe. Thanks to them, we can take these final steps towards a return to the normalcy and build our economy back stronger than ever. If you haven’t gotten your vaccine yet, I encourage you to make an appointment so you can safely do the activities you want to do.”
Here’s a summary of some of the biggest changes, according to a statement:
- Capacity limits are fully lifted for outdoor events and residential gatherings. That means there are no more capacity limits for stadiums, outdoor amphitheaters or concert venues. Indoor stadiums and arenas are now limited to 50% capacity.
- Indoor capacity limits are increased to 50%, allowing indoor social gatherings such as weddings and funerals to move closer to normalcy. The increase also pertains to restaurants, which allows them a much higher capacity than before. Gone is also the restaurant 11 p.m. indoor curfew. Restaurants are still asked to collect contact information of all guests who eat inside in case of contact tracing.
- Face masks will only be required for individuals who are not yet fully vaccinated indoors.
- For sports, participants who are fully vaccinated no longer need to follow COVID-19 guidelines. Both fully vaccinated and non-vaccinated participants may play outside without a mask. Those who are not fully vaccinated are still required to follow health and safety orders and wear masks indoors.
