UPDATE: Gov. Whitmer orders “stay at home” order as COVID-19 spreads

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – UPDATE (9:08 p.m.) – Shortly after 8:00 p.m., an emergency alert was sent to smartphones that said:

To combat the spread of COVID-19 in Michigan, Governor Whitmer signed the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order.

For at least the next three weeks, all Michigan businesses and operations must temporarily suspend in-person operations that are not necessary to sustain or protect life. and all

Michiganders must stay in their homes unless they’re a part of that critical infrastructure workforce, engaged in an outdoor activity, or performing tasks necessary to the health and safety of themselves or their family, like going to the hospital or grocery store.

YOU CAN:

Go to the grocery store or pick up take-out food.
Go to the pharmacy to pick up a needed prescription.
Engage in outdoor activities like walking, hiking, running, biking.
Go to the hospital or secure any care necessary to address a medical emergency or to preserve your health or the health of a loved one.
Fill your car with gas.
Return to Michigan to a home or place of residence from outside the State.
Leave the State for a home or residence elsewhere.
Walk your pets and take them to the veterinarian for needed medical care.

YOU MAY NOT:

Leave the home to work unless your employer designates you as a critical infrastructure worker.
Participate in any public gatherings.
Visit someone in the hospital, nursing home, or other residential care facilities (with limited exceptions).
Go to the mall or to restaurants.

BUSINESSES THAT REMAIN OPEN FOR IN-PERSON WORK MUST TAKE AGGRESSIVE STEPS TO MINIMIZE THE VIRUS’S SPREAD. THEY MUST:

Promote remote work to the fullest extent possible.
Restrict the number of workers present in-person on the job.
Keep employees at least six feet from one another to the maximum extent possible and enabling social distancing for customers who are standing in line.
Any other social distancing practices and mitigation measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

For those who have questions about the state’s actions to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, please call the COVID-19 Hotline at 1-888-535-6136 between 8AM – 5PM daily.

UPDATE (2:30 p.m.) – There are now 1,328 confirmed coronavirus cases in Michigan with 15 fatalities. There are 411 confirmed cases in Detroit with 6 deaths. Wayne County reports 227 cases and 2 deaths.

According to the state, there are 12 cases confirmed in Ingham County.

ORIGINAL STORY: Governor Gretchen Whitmer has ordered 10 million Michigan residents to stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic, even as the number of confirmed cases in the state climbed to 1,232 with reports of 15 deaths statewide.

Her announcement came Monday morning following a weekend of speculation that an order was imminent.

Effective at 12:01 am on March 24, 2020, for at least the next three weeks, individuals may only leave their home or place of residence under very limited circumstances, and they must adhere to social distancing measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when they do so, including remaining at least six feet from people from outside the individual’s household to the extent feasible under the circumstances.
Gov. Whitmer Executive Order

She emphasized that critical businesses and services will remain open.

Grocery stores will remain open and Whitmer cautioned people to not panic or hoard.

>>>Full list of critical businesses that will remain open

Here is a partial list:

For purposes of this order, critical infrastructure workers are those workers described by the Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in his guidance of March 19, 2020 on the COVID-19 response (available here). Such workers include some workers in each of the following sectors:

(a) Health care and public health.

(b) Law enforcement, public safety, and first responders.

(d) Energy.

(e) Water and wastewater.

(f) Transportation and logistics.

(g) Public works.

(h) Communications and information technology, including news media.

(i) Other community-based government operations and essential functions.

(j) Critical manufacturing.

(k) Hazardous materials.

(l) Financial services.

(m) Chemical supply chains and safety.