LANSING, MI - During her press conference today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that she signed Executive Order 2020-96 to reopen retail businesses and auto dealerships by appointment on Tuesday, May 26th. The new executive order also allows nonessential medical, dental, and veterinary procedures to resume on Friday, May 29th. Small gatherings of 10 people or less are also allowed, starting immediately, as long as they practice social distancing.

“The data shows that Michigan is ready to phase in these sectors of our economy, but we must stay vigilant and ensure we’re doing everything we can to protect ourselves and our families from the spread of COVID-19,” said Governor Whitmer in a press release. “On behalf of our brave first responders on the front lines of this crisis, we must continue to all do our part by staying safer at home. We owe it to them to do what we can to stop the spread of this virus.”

Though these businesses are opening, they will still have to adopt social distancing practices and take measures to protect their workers, such as COVID-19 training, workplace infection-control practices, proper use of PPE, steps to take for notifying the business of COVID-19 symptoms, and how to report unsafe working conditions.

Governor Whitmer also stated that there would likely be an increase in the Stay Home, Stay Safe order and that more information on that would be available in the coming days.

The full press conference can be found on the Facebook and Twitter pages of the Michigan State Police.