BREAKING: 70/30 Gone, Bars Can Reopen with Limited Restrictions
by Mason Doerr
Members,
Today, MDHHS issued an Emergency Order under MCL 333.2253, which allows bars to reopen statewide, with limited restrictions. The 70/30 distinction is no longer! This order is effective immediately and remains in effect until October 30, 2020.
Although these guidelines are relatively relaxed compared to the governor's executive orders, MIOSHA advised us to tell members to continue to follow CDC guidelines. YOU MUST also check with your local county health department, as they have the authority to implement stricter rules and guidelines on a county by county basis.
From the MDHHS Emergency Order:
FOR BARS AND RESTAURANTS:
2. Face covering requirement at gatherings.
(a) Except for schools in Region 6, as that term was defined in Executive Order 2020-176, businesses, government offices, schools, and other operations must not allow indoorgatherings of any kind unless they require individuals to wear a face covering consistent with section 3 of this order. For schools in Region 6, the wearing of face coverings is recommended.
(b) A business, school, government office, or other operation may not assume that someone who enters the business without a face covering falls in one of the exceptions specified in section 3 of this order, including the exception for individuals who cannot medically tolerate a face covering. A business, school, government office, or other operation may, however, accept an individual’s verbal representation that they are not wearing a face covering because they fall within a specified exception.
3. Exceptions to face covering requirements. Although a face covering is strongly encouraged even for individuals not required to wear one, the requirement to wear a face covering does not apply to individuals who:
(a) Are younger than five years old (and, per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), children under the age of two should not wear a mask);
(b) Cannot medically tolerate a face covering;
(c) Are eating or drinking while seated at a food service establishment;
(f) Are receiving a service for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary;
(g) Are entering a business or are receiving a service and are asked to temporarily remove a face covering for identification purposes;
(h) Are communicating with someone who is deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing and where the ability to see the mouth is essential to communication;
(l) Are giving a speech for broadcast or to an audience, provided that the audience is at least six feet away from the speaker;
4. Food service establishments. Food service establishments, as defined in section 1107(t) of the Michigan Food Law, 2000 PA 92, as amended, MCL 289.1107(t), must:
(a) Close indoor common areas in which people can congregate, dance, or otherwise mingle.
(b) Prohibit indoor gatherings anywhere alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption onsite, except for where parties are seated and separated from one another by at least six feet, and do not intermingle.
FOR OTHER VENUES:
1. Attendance limitations at gatherings.
(a) “Gathering” means any occurrence where persons from multiple households are present in a shared space in a group of two or more.
(b) The restrictions imposed by this section do not apply to the incidental gathering of persons in a shared space, including an airport, bus station, factory floor, restaurant, shopping mall, public pool, or workplace.
(c) Gatherings are permitted only as follows:
(1) Indoor gatherings of up to 10 persons occurring at a residence are permitted (face coverings are strongly recommended for such gatherings);
(2) Indoor gatherings of up to 10 persons occurring at a non-residential venue are permitted provided each person at the gathering wears a face covering;
(3) Indoor gatherings of more than 10 and up to 500 people occurring at a non-residential venue are permitted only to the extent that the organizers and venue:
(A) In venues with fixed seating, limit attendance to 20% of seating capacity of the venue, provided however that gatherings at up to 25% of seating capacity are permitted in Region 6, as that region was defined in Executive Order 2020-176;
(B) In venues without fixed seating, limit attendance to 20 persons per 1,000 square feet in each occupied room, provided however that gatherings of up to 25 persons per 1,000 square feet in each occupied room are permitted in Region 6, as that region was defined in Executive Order 2020-176;
(C) Require that each person gathered wears a face covering.
(4) Outdoor gatherings of up to 100 persons occurring at a residence are permitted (face coverings are recommended for such gatherings);
(5) Outdoor gatherings of up to 100 persons occurring at a non-residential venue are permitted provided that each person at the gathering wears a face covering;
(6) Outdoor gatherings of more than 100 and up to 1,000 persons occurring at a non-residential venue with fixed seating are permitted only to the extent that the organizers and venue:
(A) In venues with fixed seating, limit attendance to 30% of seating capacity;
(B) In venues without fixed seating, limit attendance to 30 persons per 1,000 square feet, including within any distinct area within the event space;
(C) Require that each person gathered wear a face covering.
(d) Gatherings are permitted for the following purposes notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (1)(c):
(1) Voting or election-related activities at polling places;
(2) Training of law enforcement, correctional, medical, or first responder personnel, insofar as those activities cannot be conducted remotely;
(3) Gatherings for the purpose of engaging in organized sports held in accordance with section 5 of this order.
(4) Students in a classroom setting or children in a daycare setting.
(e) Organizers and venues hosting gatherings permitted under subsection (c) of this section must ensure that persons not part of the same household maintain six feet of distance from one another, including by designing the gathering to encourage and maintain social distancing.