Gov Extends Restaurant Closure; But HS, Casinos, Movies, Can Open

The financial pain will continue for Michigan restaurants for at least another month, as Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended the ban on indoor dining in Michigan through January 15th, 2021, but there is a "but". The governor said today "if we substantially sustain our progress we will seriously consider lifting our protocols sooner.”

There was some good news coming from the Governor's announcement, as movie theaters, casinos, and bowling alleys can reopen, beginning on Monday, with restrictions. Those restriction being, no more than 100 people, no food and concessions, and mandatory social distancing. The governor is also allowing high schools to reopen for in-person learning, on Monday, December 21st. However, with many schools going on Christmas break, the immediate effect of that may be initially minimal.

In a statement, the governor said, "“These past few weeks, Michiganders across the state stepped up and did their part to slow the spread of COVID-19, and because of our collective hard work, we are now able to begin the steps to carefully lift some of the protocols we have in place. I am encouraged by the progress we have made since early November, and will continue to monitor the data closely during and after the holidays."

Similar to the Thanksgiving holiday, there is a fear there will be a spike in Covid-19 cases from the Christmas holiday, so the state is still being extremely cautious. But, with the roll out this week of the first of what might soon be multiple Covid vaccines, you'd have to presume that the amount of infections will slowly begin to come down.