July 21, 2020
Dear Partners in Health,
In recent conversations with some community leaders, it became clear that there is confusion regarding how the requirements established in Executive Order 2020-110 and Executive Order 2020-115 pertain to Lenawee County. After speaking with Lenawee County Prosecuting Attorney Burke Castleberry, I wanted to reach out to provide clarity regarding the orders.
Executive Order 2020-115 does not change requirements for Lenawee County, other than the fact that the order allowed facilities offering non-essential personal care services, such as hair, nail, massage, tanning and body art to open on June 15, 2020. The remainder of the order establishes the requirements for Regions 6 and 8 as they moved to Phase 5 of the MI Safe Start Plan.
Lenawee County is in Region 7 (Jackson Region) and at this time we remain in Phase 4 of the MI Safe Start Plan and the requirements established in Executive Order 2020-110 remain in effect for Lenawee County. Therefore, in Lenawee County gatherings are limited to no more than 10 indoors and no more than 100 outdoors. Additionally, based on the language from section 14 of Executive Order 2020-110 and given the inability to maintain 6 feet of distance at all times, very few team sports are permissible at this time. Team sports such as baseball, softball, football, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, volleyball, etc. must be limited to outdoor practices and conditioning that allow for 6 feet of social distancing at all times; competition in these sports does not allow for physical distancing at all times.
There had been hopes that we would move to Phase 5 in early July, but key indicators for monitoring epidemiologic spread did not support this move. In Lenawee County, as well as the rest of Michigan, we are seeing an increase in both the number of new cases of COVID-19, as well as the percentage of overall tests conducted resulting in positive tests. Knowing that each of you has an interest in preventing the spread of Coronavirus in our community, I would encourage you to evaluate the activities and events that are occurring on properties under your control to determine if the activities are compliant with Executive Order 2020-110. The requirements established by this order are in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our community.
If you have questions, I can be reached at (517) 264-5205 or martha.hall@lenawee.mi.us. More information will be shared as it becomes available.
Kind Regards,
Martha Hall
Health Officer