MDHHS updates mask order, effective Thursday
Art on the Rocks canceled; NMU?pauses testing for summer as semester ends
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MARQUETTE -- The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services updated its COVID-19 Gatherings and Face Masks epidemic order regarding masks to encourage safer outdoor activities as spring and summer bring warmer weather and new opportunities to go outdoors, officials announced Tuesday evening.
Under the new order, which goes into effect Thursday and continues through May 31, masks are generally not required outdoors unless a gathering has 100 or more people.
Additionally, anyone who is fully vaccinated and not experiencing symptoms is not required to wear a mask at residential gatherings, including those held indoors, according to the State Emergency Operations Center. New guidance for organized sports no longer requires routine COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated participants if they are asymptomatic.
Masks continue to be required for contact sports but are no longer required outdoors during active practice and competition for non-contact sports. Softball and baseball players will be required to wear a mask in the dugout but not when at bat or playing first base, for example.
MDHHS continues to urge Michiganders to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even where not specifically required by an epidemic order. For people who aren't yet fully vaccinated, that means masking up whenever they are other people not from their household.
"The commitment by Michiganders to receive the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is allowing us to move toward a return to normal," MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement. "The vaccines work. That means once Michiganders are fully vaccinated, they do not have to abide by as many health guidelines because of the protection the vaccine provides from the spread of the virus.
"Last week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer launched the 'MI Vacc to Normal' plan to set vaccine milestones to enable a return toward normalcy. This week we are taking further steps in that direction."
Updates to the Gatherings and Masks epidemic order encourage outdoor events with larger capacities permitted for entertainment and recreational facilities and for sports stadiums and arenas that hold events outdoors. This includes:
≤ Large outdoor events, including festivals, fairs and golf tournaments will be able to exceed the current 1,000-person limit so long as they create and post a safety plan consistent with the MDHHS Large Outdoor Event Guidance, and no more than 20 persons per 1,000 square feet are gathered in any space available to patrons.
≤ Regarding outdoor stadiums and arenas, stadiums complying with enhanced protocols will continue to be allowed to operate at 20% of their fixed seating capacity. For example, a stadium with a maximum capacity complying with enhanced protocols would be permitted to host 8,000 patrons. Otherwise, for stadiums or arenas with a fixed seating capacity of 5,000 or greater without enhanced protocols, 1,000 patrons may gather, with 750 being the previous number.
For stadiums or arenas with a fixed seating capacity of 10,000 or greater without enhanced protocols 1,500 patrons may gather.
≤ Residential outdoor gatherings are allowed up to 50 people. Or, where density does not exceed 20 persons per 1,000 square feet of usable outdoor space, up to 300 people may gather.
Whitmer comments on Biden's vaccination goal
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued a statement on Tuesday following President Joe Biden's announcement of a national goal to have 70% of Americans get at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4.
The announcement comes after Whitmer unveiled her MI Vacc to Normal plan to base additional re-engagements on vaccination rates, with the final step being 70% of eligible Michiganders receiving one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"In Michigan and across the United States, frontline health care workers, hospitals and state and local governments are working tirelessly to administer doses of the safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines and save lives," Whitmer said. "After reaching 200 million shots in arms by President Biden's 100th day in office, the federal government is following Michigan's lead by announcing a new goal to have 70% of Americans vaccinated with at least one dose so we can return to the normalcy that we all crave, as safely as possible."
Whitmer said this goal is in line with the MI Vacc to Normal challenge, which ties re-engagements to certain vaccination metrics.
"So far, Michigan has administered over 7 million doses to more than 50% of Michiganders 16 and up, but to reach the 70% target, we will all have to do our part," she said. "If you haven't already, I encourage you to get your COVID-19 vaccine."
Whitmer called the vaccines the "best shot at being free from this pandemic" and the quickest way for people's lives to return to normal.
The state's chief medical executive echoed those sentiments.
"Getting the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is the most important thing you can do to protect yourself, your family and your community," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, also chief deputy for health at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Resources, in a statement.
Khaldun urged Michiganders to get one of the three available vaccines -- Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson -- as soon as possible, reminding people to get their second doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to get the full immunity these vaccines offer.
Art on the Rocks canceled
Organizers for Art on the Rocks announced that "after many difficult discussions, due to ongoing questions and planning concerns around COVID-19 restrictions," it decided to cancel this year's show, originally scheduled for July 24-25.
However, it said the 2022 Art on the Rocks Fine Art Show is scheduled for July 30-31, 2022. Applications for the 2022 show will be open Jan. 1-March 31.
Whitmer wins award
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announced on Tuesday that Whitmer is one of seven recipients for the special Profile in Courage Award.
Whitmer is recognized for her service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the awards for COVID Courage as part of a virtual ceremony that will air for the public at 6 p.m. May 26.
"It is my honor to accept this prestigious award on behalf of every Michigander who stepped up to help their family and community through the COVID-19 pandemic," Whitmer said in a statement. "I am humbled by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the Kennedy Family for their recognition.
"We must all strive to live up to the call of public service put forward by President Kennedy decades ago and exemplified by the heroes on the frontlines of this pandemic who are putting shots in arms and working tirelessly in schools, stores and hospitals statewide."
The honorees put their own lives at risk to keep others safe, said Kennedy, honorary president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, in a statement.
"They inspire us all with their courage and give new meaning to President Kennedy's legacy of public service," she said.
In a statement, Schlossberg, a member of the Profile in Courage Award Committee, said, "These heroes went above and beyond for their community and our country, and remind us that we all can make a difference if we answer the call to serve."
When Michigan's first cases of COVID-19 were identified in early March 2020, Whitmer "invoked emergency powers in a bid to contain the spread of the virus and save lives, issuing early, controversial orders to close schools and businesses, mandate mask wearing and ban large gatherings, among other measures," officials said.
Her actions "sparked praise as well as vocal backlash over stay-home-home orders," the release states.
Protests over Whitmer's pandemic response "became increasingly threatening, according to the governor's office, with armed demonstrators surrounding and at one point storming the state capitol to demand an end to stay-at-home orders," officials said.
In October, 13 men who were charged with a June plot to kidnap and kill Whitmer were said to be "motivated at least in part by anger and resentment over pandemic restrictions. Whitmer still stayed firm while following the science and listening to public health experts to get the pandemic under control," her office said.
Thousands of people from across the country submitted COVID Courage nominations.
The other awardees are: Dr. Amy Acton, former director of the Ohio Department of Health; Burnell Cotlon, owner of Burnell's Market in Louisiana; Fred Freeman, a captain in the Hanover, Massachusetts Fire Department; Antonio Greene, Amazon associate and former delivery associate in South Carolina; Lauren Leander, an intensive care nurse in Arizona; and Darrell M. Marks, a Native American academic adviser in Arizona.
NMU pauses testing
With the winter semester just concluding, Northern Michigan University has paused testing and COVID-19 data collection for the summer break.
The latest data on its COVID-19 reporting dashboard, found at https://nmu.edu/safe-on-campus/dashboard, showed 19 active positives for a positivity rate of 0.29% as of Sunday. This number included eight off-campus students, eight on-campus students and three employees
For the winter semester from Jan. 4 through Sunday, there were 159 cumulative positive cases for a 2.43% positivity rate. The cases involved 88 off-campus students, 57 on-campus students and 14 employees.
Fall courses begin Aug. 23, and the dashboard will resume operations at that time.
Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.