Governor Whitmer extends “Safer at Home” order until June 12th

MICHIGAN — Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced today that she has extended her “Safer at Home” executive order until June 12th.

The extension comes just one day after a state court threw out the legislature’s lawsuit against the governor for misusing state emergency powers.

The numbers of cases and deaths from COVID–19 around the state are declining, but Whitmer says the state can’t open prematurely.

“While the data shows that we are making progress, we are not out of the woods yet. If we’re going to lower the chance of a second wave and continue to protect our neighbors and loved ones from the spread of this virus, we must continue to do our part by staying safer at home,” Governor Whitmer said. “If we open too soon, thousands more could die and our hospitals will get overwhelmed.  While we finally have more protective equipment like masks, we can’t run the risk of running low again. We owe it to the real heroes on the front lines of this crisis – our first responders, health care workers, and critical workers putting their lives on the line every day – to do what we can ourselves to stop the spread of the virus.” 

Today is the first day that Regions 6 and 8 have been partially reopened, which includes the entire Upper Peninsula as well as the northern part of the Lower Peninsula.

Whitmer has previously allowed manufacturing and construction to resume, and she also announced that retail stores and auto dealerships could open up by appointment state–wide. However, this extension will keep facilities like theaters, gyms, and casinos closed for the time being.

The stay-at-home order was previously set to end on May 28th.

ABC10 will continue to follow this story as it develops.