Governor Whitmer’s most recent Safe Start order, Mich Exec Order No 2020-183, effective October 9, 2020, states that Michigan’s “rate of new daily cases has plateaued at a level well below the national average.” Described as another step in the Governor’s “incremental approach,” the order rescinds the previous Safe Start order, Mich Exec Order No 2020-176, as well as Mich Exec Order No 2020-180 and Mich Exec Order No 2020-181. Mich Exec Order No 2020-183 incorporates many of the prior Safe Start orders’ provisions and adds new ones relaxing social gathering and event restrictions, lifting the closures of some places of public accommodation, and outlining more requirements for restaurants and bars. In addition to the new Safe Start order, Governor Whitmer also implemented a new workplace safety order, Mich Exec Order No 2020-184, as well as Mich Exec Order No 2020-185, requiring K-5 students to wear masks in school as of October 5, 2020.

Highlights of Mich Exec Order No 2020-183 include the following:

• In all Regions except Regions 6 and 8, any work that can be performed remotely must be performed remotely.
• In Regions 6 and 8, any work that can be performed remotely should be performed remotely.
• Individuals who leave their homes must follow CDC social distancing guidelines and Mich Exec Order No 2020-153 governing masks.
• Certain listed types of places of public accommodation that have been closed under prior Safe Start orders—including indoor theaters, performance venues, indoor climbing gyms, and amusement facilities—are permitted to open as of October 9, 2020.
• Food service establishments must close common areas in which people can congregate, dance, or otherwise mingle.
• Food service establishments that hold on-premises retailer licenses to sell alcoholic beverages must close for indoor service if they “earn more than 70% of their gross receipts from sales of alcoholic beverages.” Establishments that are only open for outdoor service “must prohibit patrons from entering the establishment, except to pass through in order to access the outdoor area, to pick up a carry-out order, to leave the establishment, or to use the restroom.”
• Food service establishments must use gross receipts from 2019 for their calculations if they were open in 2019, otherwise they must use receipts from the date the establishment opened in 2020 until the present. Sales of lottery tickets do not count for purposes of calculating gross receipts.
• Temporary suspension of dance and topless activity permits continues.
• Social gatherings and organized events are permitted only to the extent that organizers and venues ensure social distancing and abide by the following restrictions:
  • Indoor gatherings of 10 people or fewer are permitted.
  • Indoor gatherings of more than 10 people and fewer than 500 people are at a nonresidential venue are permitted if attendance is either (1) limited to 20 percent of seating capacity in fixed seating venues (25 percent in Regions 6 and 8) or (2) otherwise limited to 20 people per 1,000 square feet of venue space including each individual room (25 people per 1,000 square feet in Regions 6 and 8). In either case, all individuals must be required to wear a facial covering consistent with Mich Exec Order No 2020-153.
  • Outdoor social gatherings or organized events of 100 people or fewer are permitted.
  • Outdoor social gatherings or organized events of more than 100 and fewer than 1,000 people occurring at a nonresidential venue are permitted only if seating is limited to 30 percent capacity in fixed seating venues or otherwise limited to 30 people per 1,000 square feet of event space (including in distinct areas within the event space).
  • These restrictions do not apply to “incidental” gatherings of persons in shared spaces like airports, malls, pools, or workplaces, though they do apply to social gatherings and organized events held in such places.

• Organized sports, defined as “competitive athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and organized by an institution or association that sets and enforces rules to ensure the physical health and safety of all participants,” are permitted under certain enumerated circumstances. Among other things, the order requires that athletes training for, practicing for, or competing in an organized sport “must wear a facial covering (except when swimming) or consistently maintain 6 feet of social distance (except for occasional and fleeting moments).” Organizers must follow MDHHS guidance, implement strict limits on audiences, and prohibit sale of concessions at indoor venues.
• Professional sports can continue in accordance with a COVID-19 safety plan. The order does not include any specific restrictions on live audiences for professional sporting events.
• Outdoor parks and recreational facilities may be open as long as they make modifications to allow for social distancing and close areas where six feet of distance cannot be maintained.
• “[N]either a place of religious worship nor its owner is subject to penalty under . . . this order for engaging in religious worship at a place of religious worship.”
• Nothing in the order “should be taken to modify, limit, or abridge protections provided by state or federal law for a person with a disability.”