Executive Order Authorizes Nonessential Medical Procedures as of May 29

Governor Whitmer Executive Order 2020-96 Authorizes Nonessential Medical, Dental and Veterinary Procedures as of May 29, 2020

Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-96, which reopens retail businesses and auto dealerships by appointment statewide on Tuesday, May 26, as part of her MI Safe Start plan. More important for chiropractors, however, is that the governor’s executive order also lifts the requirement that health care providers delay some nonessential medical, dental, and veterinary procedures statewide, beginning on Friday, May 29. The order also authorizes small gatherings of 10 people or less starting immediately, as long as participants practice social distancing.

The governor also signed a separate order, Executive Order 2020-97, updating a prior rule on workplace safety. Per the amended order, reopened outpatient health-care facilities, including clinics, primary care physician offices, and dental offices, will have to adopt strict protocols to prevent infection. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs will issue guidance to aid those facilities in adopting appropriate safeguards.

As before, businesses maintaining in-person activities must adopt social distancing practices and other mitigation measures to protect workers. They must, among other things, provide COVID-19 training to workers that covers, at a minimum, workplace infection-control practices, the proper use of PPE, steps workers must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, and how to report unsafe working conditions.

Consistent with the governor’s previous Safer at Home orders, any individual able to medically tolerate a face covering must wear a covering over his or her nose and mouth—like a homemade mask, scarf, bandana, or handkerchief—when in any enclosed public space. Michiganders who are not working as critical infrastructure workers or at a business that has been authorized to reopen should stay home to protect themselves and their families from the spread of COVID-19.

Stay tuned for more information and analysis as it becomes available.