Shortly after the governor issued her latest orders, this website published highlights along with the order 2020-42 in its entirety.  Since then, the governor added FAQs regarding the order. In some cases, the FAQs appear to impose additional limitations on activity.  For those who live or visit the lake, here are some highlights from the FAQs and order.

Boating:  “Physical outdoor activity like kayaking, canoeing, and sailing is permitted under the order, but using a motorboat, a jet ski, or other similar watercraft is not.”  

Travel:  Travel between two residences in Michigan is not permitted.  However, It is legal to “return to a home or place of residence from outside this state” or to “leave this state for a home or residence elsewhere.”  “All other travel is prohibited, including all travel to vacation rentals.”

Clubs:  Hunting, shooting or target sports facilities/clubs must not be open to the public.

Lawns and gardens:  In nearly all cases, landscaping, lawn care, tree service, irrigation, and related outdoor maintenance companies must not operate. 

Buying plants, paint, flooring, furniture:  The governor directs that areas within a store be closed “by cordoning them off, placing signs in aisles, posting prominent signs, removing goods from shelves, or other appropriate means—that are dedicated to the following classes of goods:  carpet or flooring, furniture, garden centers and plant nurseries, paint.”

Bike repair:  “Workers at bicycle repair shops can be designated as critical infrastructure workers only if they provide maintenance for bicycles that other critical infrastructure workers use to get to their jobs. We expect that this condition will be satisfied very rarely.” 

Repairs to home:  “Under the order, critical infrastructure workers include workers ‘who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences.’ Accordingly, workers may be designated to perform in-person work that is necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operations of a residence during the emergency, including work immediately necessary to restore the habitability of a residence. Any non-emergency maintenance or improvements to residences are not permitted.”

Legal help:  Law firms, attorney offices and legal aid clinics must not continue in-person activities.  “Attorneys do not constitute ‘critical infrastructure workers’ and thus may not leave their homes for work unless, under section 9(d) of the order, they are ‘provid[ing] food, shelter, and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals, individuals who need assistance as a result of this emergency, and people with disabilities.’ 

For shopping, the executive order calls on stores to “explore alternatives to lines, including by allowing customers to wait in their cars for a text message or phone call, to enable social distancing and to accommodate seniors and those with disabilities.”  Further it asks stores to “consider establishing curbside pick-up to reduce in-store traffic and mitigate outdoor lines.”

The order becomes more complicated:  “For stores of less than 50,000 square feet of customer floor space, limit the number of people in the store (including employees) to 25% of the total occupancy limits established by the State Fire Marshal or a local fire marshal.  For stores of more than 50,000 square feet:  limit the number of customers in the store at one time (excluding employees) to 4 people per 1,000 square feet of customer floor space.” (For more details, click on link in the opening paragraph of this story). 

Stores must “refrain from the advertising or promotion of goods that are not groceries, medical supplies, or items that are necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and basic operation of residences.”

Please go to the opening paragraph to find links to the order and the FAQs. 

The order remains in effect until April 30th.

Clark Lake this morning–April 11, 2020