EXECUTIVE ORDER

No. 2020-21

Temporary requirement to suspend activities that

are not necessary to sustain or protect life

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that can result in serious illness
or death. It is caused by a new strain of coronavirus not previously identified in humans
and easily spread from person to person. Older adults and those with chronic health
conditions are at particular risk, and there is an increased risk of rapid spread of COVID-19
among persons in close proximity to one another. There is currently no approved vaccine or
antiviral treatment for this disease.

On March 10, 2020, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services identified the
first two presumptive-positive cases of COVID-19 in Michigan. On that same day, I issued
Executive Order 2020-4. This order declared a state of emergency across the state of
Michigan under section 1 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the Emergency
Management Act, 1976 PA 390, as amended, MCL 30.401-.421, and the Emergency Powers
of the Governor Act of 1945, 1945 PA 302, as amended, MCL 10.31-.33.

The Emergency Management Act vests the governor with broad powers and duties to
“cop[e] with dangers to this state or the people of this state presented by a disaster or
emergency,” which the governor may implement through “executive orders, proclamations,
and directives having the force and effect of law.” MCL 30.403(1)-(2). Similarly, the
Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945, provides that, after declaring a state of
emergency, “the governor may promulgate reasonable orders, rules, and regulations as he
or she considers necessary to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation
within the affected area under control.” MCL 10.31(1).

To suppress the spread of COVID-19, to prevent the state’s health care system from being
overwhelmed, to allow time for the production of critical test kits, ventilators, and personal
protective equipment, and to avoid needless deaths, it is reasonable and necessary to direct
residents to remain at home or in their place of residence to the maximum extent feasible.

This order takes effect on March 24, 2020 at 12:01 am, and continues through April 13,
2020 at 11:59 pm.

GEORGE W. ROMNEY BUILDING • 111 SOUTH CAPITOL AVENUE • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909
www.michigan.gov
PRINTED IN-HOUSE
Acting under the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and Michigan law, I order the following:

1. This order must be construed broadly to prohibit in-person work that is not
necessary to sustain or protect life.

2. Subject to the exceptions in section 7, all individuals currently living within the
State of Michigan are ordered to stay at home or at their place of residence. Subject
to the same exceptions, all public and private gatherings of any number of people
occurring among persons not part of a single household are prohibited.

3. All individuals who leave their home or place of residence must adhere to social
distancing measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, including remaining at least six feet from people from outside the
individual’s household to the extent feasible under the circumstances.

4. No person or entity shall operate a business or conduct operations that require

workers to leave their homes or places of residence except to the extent that those
workers are necessary to sustain or protect life or to conduct minimum basic
operations.

(a) For purposes of this order, workers who are necessary to sustain or protect
life are defined as “critical infrastructure workers,” as described in sections 8
and 9.

(b) For purposes of this order, workers who are necessary to conduct minimum
basic operations are those whose in-person presence is strictly necessary to
allow the business or operation to maintain the value of inventory and
equipment, care for animals, ensure security, process transactions (including
payroll and employee benefits), or facilitate the ability of other workers to
work remotely.

Businesses and operations must determine which of their workers are

necessary to conduct minimum basic operations and inform such workers of
that designation. Businesses and operations must make such designations in
writing, whether by electronic message, public website, or other appropriate
means. Such designations, however, may be made orally until March 31, 2020
at 11:59 pm.

5. Businesses and operations that employ critical infrastructure workers may continue
in-person operations, subject to the following conditions:

(a) Consistent with sections 8 and 9, businesses and operations must determine
which of their workers are critical infrastructure workers and inform such
workers of that designation. Businesses and operations must make such
designations in writing, whether by electronic message, public website, or
other appropriate means. Such designations, however, may be made orally
until March 31, 2020 at 11:59 pm. Businesses and operations need not
designate:

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 (1) Workers in health care and public health.

(2) Workers who perform necessary government activities, as described in

section 6.

(3) Workers and volunteers described in section 9(d).

(b) In-person activities that are not necessary to sustain or protect life must be
suspended until normal operations resume.

(c) Businesses and operations maintaining in-person activities must adopt social
distancing practices and other mitigation measures to protect workers and
patrons. Those practices and measures include, but are not limited to:

(1) Restricting the number of workers present on premises to no more

than is strictly necessary to perform the business’s or operation’s
critical infrastructure functions.

(2) Promoting remote work to the fullest extent possible.

(3) Keeping workers and patrons who are on premises at least six feet
from one another to the maximum extent possible, including for
customers who are standing in line.

(4) Increasing standards of facility cleaning and disinfection to limit

worker and patron exposure to COVID-19, as well as adopting
protocols to clean and disinfect in the event of a positive COVID-19
case in the workplace.

(5) Adopting policies to prevent workers from entering the premises if

they display respiratory symptoms or have had contact with a person
who is known or suspected to have COVID-19.

(6) Any other social distancing practices and mitigation measures

recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

6. All in-person government activities at whatever level (state, county, or local) that
are not necessary to sustain or protect life, or to supporting those businesses and
operations that are necessary to sustain or protect life, are suspended.

(a) For purposes of this order, necessary government activities include activities
performed by critical infrastructure workers, including workers in law
enforcement, public safety, and first responders.

(b) Such activities also include, but are not limited to, public transit, trash pick-
up and disposal, activities necessary to manage and oversee elections,
operations necessary to enable transactions that support the work of a
business’s or operation’s critical infrastructure workers, and the maintenance
of safe and sanitary public parks so as to allow for outdoor recreation.

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 (c) For purposes of this order, necessary government activities include minimum
basic operations, as described in section 4(b). Workers performing such
activities need not be designated.

(d) Any in-person government activities must be performed consistently with the
social distancing practices and other mitigation measures to protect workers
and patrons described in section 5(c).

7. Exceptions.

(a) Individuals may leave their home or place of residence, and travel as
necessary:

(1) To engage in outdoor activity, including walking, hiking, running,

cycling, or any other recreational activity consistent with remaining at
least six feet from people from outside the individual’s household.

(2) To perform their jobs as critical infrastructure workers after being so

designated by their employers. (Critical infrastructure workers who
need not be designated under section 5(a) may leave their home for
work without a designation.)

(3) To conduct minimum basic operations, as described in section 4(b),

after being designated to perform such work by their employers.

(4) To perform necessary government activities, as described in section 6.

(5) To perform tasks that are necessary to their health and safety, or to
the health and safety of their family or household members (including
pets). Individuals may, for example, leave the home or place of
residence to secure medication or to seek medical or dental care that is
necessary to address a medical emergency or to preserve the health
and safety of a household or family member (including procedures
that, in accordance with a duly implemented nonessential procedures
postponement plan, have not been postponed).

(6) To obtain necessary services or supplies for themselves, their family or

household members, and their vehicles. Individuals must secure such
services or supplies via delivery to the maximum extent possible. As
needed, however, individuals may leave the home or place of residence
to purchase groceries, take-out food, gasoline, needed medical
supplies, and any other products necessary to maintain the safety,
sanitation, and basic operation of their residences.

(7) To care for a family member or a family member’s pet in another

household.

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 (8) To care for minors, dependents, the elderly, persons with disabilities, or
other vulnerable persons.

(9) To visit an individual under the care of a health care facility, residential
care facility, or congregate care facility, to the extent otherwise
permitted.

(10) To attend legal proceedings or hearings for essential or emergency

purposes as ordered by a court.

(11) To work or volunteer for businesses or operations (including both and

religious and secular nonprofit organizations) that provide 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.

(b) Individuals may also travel:

(1) To return to a home or place of residence from outside this state.

(2) To leave this state for a home or residence elsewhere.

(3) To travel between two residences in this state.

(4) As required by law enforcement or a court order, including the

transportation of children pursuant to a custody agreement.

8. For purposes of this order, critical infrastructure workers are those workers
described by the Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
Agency in his guidance of March 19, 2020 on the COVID-19 response (available
here). Such workers include some workers in each of the following sectors:

(a) Health care and public health.

(b) Law enforcement, public safety, and first responders.

(c) Food and agriculture.

(d) Energy.

(e) Water and wastewater.

(f) Transportation and logistics.

(g) Public works.

(h) Communications and information technology, including news media.

(i) Other community-based government operations and essential functions.

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 (j) Critical manufacturing.

(k) Hazardous materials.

(l) Financial services.

(m) Chemical supply chains and safety.

(n) Defense industrial base.

9. For purposes of this order, critical infrastructure workers also include:

(a) Child care workers (including workers at disaster relief child care centers),
but only to the extent necessary to serve the children or dependents of critical
infrastructure workers as defined in this order. This category includes
individuals (whether licensed or not) who have arranged to care for the
children or dependents of critical infrastructure workers.

(b) Workers at designated suppliers and distribution centers, as described below.

(1) A business or operation that employs critical infrastructure workers

may designate suppliers, distribution centers, or service providers
whose continued operation is necessary to enable, support, or facilitate
the work of its critical infrastructure workers.

(2) Such suppliers, distribution centers, or service providers may

designate workers as critical infrastructure workers only to the extent
those workers are necessary to enable, support, or facilitate the work
of the original operation’s or business’s critical infrastructure workers.

(3) Designated suppliers, distribution centers, and service providers may

in turn designate additional suppliers, distribution centers, and
service providers whose continued operation is necessary to enable,
support, or facilitate the work of their critical infrastructure workers.

(4) Such additional suppliers, distribution centers, and service providers

may designate workers as critical infrastructure workers only to the
extent that those workers are necessary to enable, support, or
facilitate the work of the critical infrastructure workers at the
supplier, distribution center, or service provider that has designated
them.

(5) Businesses, operations, suppliers, distribution centers, and service

providers must make all designations in writing to the entities they
are designating, whether by electronic message, public website, or
other appropriate means. Such designations may be made orally until
March 31, 2020 at 11:59 pm.

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 (6) Businesses, operations, suppliers, distribution centers, and service
providers that abuse their designation authority shall be subject to
sanctions to the fullest extent of the law.

(c) Workers in the insurance industry, but only to the extent that their work
cannot be done by telephone or remotely.

(d) Workers and volunteers for businesses or operations (including both and
religious and secular nonprofit organizations) that provide 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.

(e) Workers who perform critical labor union functions, including those who
administer health and welfare funds and those who monitor the well-being
and safety of union members who are critical infrastructure workers,
provided that any administration or monitoring should be done by telephone
or remotely where possible.

10. Nothing in this order should be taken to supersede another executive order or
directive that is in effect, except to the extent this order imposes more stringent
limitations on in-person work, activities, and interactions. Consistent with prior
guidance, a place of religious worship, when used for religious worship, is not subject
to penalty under section 14.

11. Nothing in this order should be taken to interfere with or infringe on the powers of
the legislative and judicial branches to perform their constitutional duties or
exercise their authority.

12. This order takes effect on March 24, 2020 at 12:01 am, and continues through April
13, 2020 at 11:59 pm.

13. The governor will evaluate the continuing need for this order prior to its expiration.
In determining whether to maintain, intensify, or relax its restrictions, she will
consider, among other things, (1) data on COVID-19 infections and the disease’s rate
of spread; (2) whether sufficient medical personnel, hospital beds, and ventilators
exist to meet anticipated medical need; (3) the availability of personal protective
equipment for the health-care workforce; (4) the state’s capacity to test for COVID-
19 cases and isolate infected people; and (5) economic conditions in the state.

14. Consistent with MCL 10.33 and MCL 30.405(3), a willful violation of this order is a
misdemeanor.

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Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State of Michigan.

Date: March 23, 2020 ___________________________________

GRETCHEN WHITMER
Time: 10:39 am GOVERNOR

By the Governor:

___________________________________
SECRETARY OF STATE