Michigan is reopening indoor dining with limits and curfews, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) says it is “because of the strong position that we’re in.”
Starting on Monday, restaurants in the state will be allowed to have 25% indoor capacity and will have a 10 p.m. curfew.
Appearing on CNN’s “New Day” Monday, Whitmer said, “This virus poses a unique threat to places that are indoors where you mix households and people take off their masks. It’s not the restaurant industry’s fault that they are the place where this virus can spread fast.”
“But that is in fact the case,” she added. “And that’s why we’ve been trying to get Congress to give us more support so we can help these struggling businesses.”
Whitmer pointed to the state’s “strategic, targeted and temporary pause” in November, adding that it helped Michigan’s numbers in coronavirus cases “drop precipitously.”
The governor continued:
“We are now 46th highest when it comes to positivity rates. That’s phenomenal, compared to where we were in November. We’re sixth-highest when it comes to getting vaccines into arms and because of the strong position that we’re in we can take this small step forward in this industry that’s struggled so much.”
Watch Whitmer’s interview below:
As coronavirus cases decline, Michigan is set to reopen indoor dining with curfews and limits. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says it's "because of the strong position that we're in, we can take this small step forward in this industry that struggled so much."https://t.co/SepIsomQHq pic.twitter.com/uKBTYXZmqb
— CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) February 1, 2021
There has been an average of 148,460 positive coronavirus cases reported over the past week, which is a 32% decrease from the two weeks prior, according to The New York Times.
Michigan has reported an average of 1,892 new COVID-19 cases per day over the past week — a 30% decrease from the two weeks prior, the Times reports. There were at least 68 new cases reported on Sunday.