LANSING, MI - Today Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced her decision to lift the Safer at Home order and that Michigan would be moving into phase four of the MI Safe Start Plan. Effective immediately, groups of 100 or less are allowed to gather outdoors as long as social distancing measures are in place. Outdoor workout classes are also able to start, along with all office work that cannot be completed at home. However, Governor Whitmer still urges people to work at home if possible. House cleaning services and other in-home services are also allowed to resume.

On Thursday, June 4th retailers that have been closed will be able to reopen with capacity limits in place. Restaurants will be allowed to reopen for indoor and outdoor seating on Monday, June 8th. Social distancing measures must be taken and tables must be six feet apart from one another. This decision comes two weeks after announcing that certain businesses in Northern Michigan would be allowed to open. Governor Whitmer went on to say that she will likely move regions 6 and 8 to phase five of the MI Safe Start Plan, but that the decision will depend on how the numbers look in the coming days.

“The data has shown that we are ready to carefully move our state into the next phase of the MI Safe Start Plan, but we owe it to our brave frontline heroes to get this right,” said Governor Whitmer in a press release. She emphasized the importance of continuing to follow social distancing guidelines, even though Michigan residents are no longer required to stay at home. If all goes well, her goal is to shift the entire state of Michigan to phase five prior to the fourth of July.

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun spoke about how the number of positive cases and deaths are declining, as well as the number of hospitalizations. She also stated that frontline workers have access to PPE that will last for several weeks. “We will continue to monitor the data and work closely with local health departments to ensure Michiganders practice safe social distancing. On behalf of our health care professionals and first responders on the front lines, we must all be smart and be safe,” said Dr. Khaldun.

A full list of businesses allowed to reopen per the new executive order can be found at michigan.gov/coronavirus. The full press conference can be found on the Michigan State Police Facebook and Twitter pages.