Lansing, MI (AP) – Michigan will fully lift outdoor capacity limits on June 1st and, starting July 1st, end indoor gathering caps that were put in place to curb COVID-19, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday in a major loosening of economic restrictions.
The announcement, which includes raising all indoor establishments’ capacity limits to 50% and ending bar and restaurant curfews on June 1, came nearly a week after the governor’s administration eased a mask order due to updated federal guidance.
“Life is getting back to normal,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said during a news conference at a minor league baseball park in Midland, which sustained major flooding a year ago.
The governor scrapped a plan to tie three final reopening steps to specific statewide vaccination rates, pointing to the new face covering recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pace of vaccinations has slowed.
On June 1, capacity at casinos, gyms and indoor pools can rise to 50% — the current limit at many venues. The same goes for indoor weddings, funerals, conferences and graduation parties, which will not face maximum hard caps on occupancy numbers.
Concert venues and outdoor stadiums, such as the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park, can fill their seats. Indoor places can have 100% capacity on July 1.
The state health department will issue a revised order on Monday. In the summer, Whitmer said, the state may have one or more targeted orders to protect “vulnerable populations, but for the most part, life will be back to normal and we can have the kind of Independence Day we’re all looking forward to.”
Nearly 57% of residents ages 16 and older have gotten at least one shot. Whitmer continued to urge people to be vaccinated and noted that unvaccinated individuals must wear a mask indoors through June, after which a broad face covering rule will be rescinded.
“I want to be clear about the fact that businesses and workplaces are well within their rights to require masks as patrons go in,” she said. “So let’s give them our support as they navigate what’s best for them and their workplace and their patrons.”
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