Downriver Today

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she hopes to have the ban on indoor dining lifted statewide for Michigan restaurants by Monday, Feb. 1, according to a blog published on the Mackinac Center for Public Policy's website.

The governor discussed the COVID-19 restrictions during a virtual press conference via Facebook.

According to the Mackinac Center, Michigan is one of only three states still under COVID-19 restrictions that include a ban on indoor dining for restaurants. Though the governor has mentioned lifted this ban by the beginning of next month, this may still be wishful thinking rather than a date set in stone for restaurant owners, employees and patrons.

"But restaurant owners shouldn’t hold their breath: The governor and her health department director would not commit to this at a press conference," Michael Van Beek of the Mackinac Center said.

Gov. Whitmer says she is basing her decision on whether to allow restaurants to reopen on three metrics, including a decrease in daily positive tests and the number of hospital beds taken by COVID-19 patients, both of which have improved since the beginning of the indoor dining ban that started Nov. 18.

The governor said there is still concern about allowing indoor dining because of the new strain of the coronavirus, which was first identified in the U.K. and seems to spread more easily.

“When this appears in Michigan, it will be a very concerning moment," Whitmer said during the press conference. 

Though some hope has been given to restaurant owners that the ban will be lifted by the beginning of February, there is no clear answer or decision by any state officials.

“Our actions on Feb. 1 will depend on what happens with the pandemic between now and then," said Robert Gordon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy blog.