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Wayne
County
issues
emergency
health
order to
protect
residents,
slow
COVID-19
spread
Order
codifies
State
Executive
Orders
Made
Prior to
MI
Supreme
Court
Ruling
Regarding
Masks,
Social
Distancing,
and
Worker
Screenings
DETROIT
- Wayne
County
today
issued a
new
Emergency
Public
Health
Order
that
clarifies
and
amplifies
the
COVID-19
orders
issued
by the
state of
Michigan.
The
order
carries
forward
the
public
health
safety
precautions
implemented
by
Governor
Gretchen
Whitmer
in
response
to the
coronavirus
pandemic,
County
Executive
Warren
C. Evans
said.
A
copy of
the
Wayne
County
Emergency
Public
Health
Order is
available
at
www.WayneCounty.com/covid19.
Executive
Evans
said
Wayne
County’s
order is
intended
to
clarify
the
rules
and
regulations
county
residents
and
businesses
must
follow.
On
Friday,
the
Michigan
Supreme
Court
ruled
the
governor
did not
have
legal
authority
to issue
the
emergency
orders
in
response
to
COVID-19
without
legislative
approval.
That
ruling
created
confusion
on which
safety
precautions
people
and
business
should
still
follow.
Under
Michigan
law,
local
health
authorities
can
issue
emergency
orders
in
response
to
public
health
crises.
“We
are
keeping
the
COVID-19
rules
and
regulations
in place
from
before
the
Michigan
Supreme
Court
ruled on
the
governor’s
authority
to issue
them,”
Executive
Evans
said.
“Wayne
County’s
order is
simple:
keep
wearing
masks in
public;
no group
events
larger
than 10
people
or 20
percent
attendance
per
1,000
square-feet
of
space;
and,
employers
must
still
provide
health
screenings
for
employees
working
in
public
areas or
with the
public.
These
are the
rules we
are
accustomed
to and
they are
the
rules we
are
going to
follow
until
there is
clearer
direction
from the
state.”
The
governor’s
Executive
Orders
are in
effect
now in
the
jurisdiction
of the
Wayne
County
Health
Department
and are
likely
to
remain
in
effect
until at
least
Oct. 23.
Specifically,
residents
and
businesses
under
the
jurisdiction
of the
Wayne
County
Public
Health
Department
must:
•
Continue
wearing
face
masks
while in
public
spaces;
• Limit
group
events
to 10
people
or less,
or in
the case
of arena
or
entertainment
event
with
fixed
seating,
limit
attendance
to 20
percent
of the
venue’s
seating
capacity
to allow
for
social
distancing;
•
Continue
protections
for
residents
of
long-term
care
facilities;
and,
• Screen
employees
for
COVID-19
symptoms.
In
addition,
Wayne
County
school
districts
under
the
jurisdiction
of the
Wayne
County
Health
Department
must
continue
following
the
Return
to
School
plan
outlined
by the
state of
Michigan.
Such
specific
measures
in this
order
will be
enforced,
and any
violations
are
subject
to
citation
and
penalties
as
outlined
in the
Michigan
Public
Health
Code.
This
order
will
remain
in
effect
until it
is
determined
by the
Health
Officer
of the
Wayne
County
Health
Department
that the
threat
to the
public's
health
and
lives is
no
longer
present.
This
order
may be
revised
as well
as
supplemented
with
specific
procedures
and
orders
issued
by the
Michigan
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services
in
accordance
with the
Michigan
Public
Health
Code.
“Wayne
County
residents
and
businesses
recognize
the
importance
these
health
safety
measures
play in
reducing
the
spread
of
COVID-19,
and we
have
seen
strong
compliance
across
our 43
communities,”
Executive
Evans
said.
“This
order
just
makes it
clear
that
Wayne
County
is going
to
continue
with the
public
health
safety
rules
everyone
is
accustomed
to and
that are
showing
results
in
slowing
the
spread
of this
disease.”
Wayne
County’s
Emergency
Public
Health
Order is
likely
to
remain
in
effect
until
Oct. 23,
or until
other
countermanding
orders
are
issued.
The
county
will
issue
new
orders
as
needed
to
address
public
health
safety
to match
or
expand
upon
anticipated
new
orders
from the
Michigan
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services.
This
order
excludes
the city
of
Detroit,
which is
governed
by its
own
local
health
department.
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