Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday that personal care services like hair and nail salons and massages can reopen statewide June 15.
Personal care businesses that reopen will be required to keep workstations at least six feet apart from one another and, if possible, separate them with physical barriers like plexiglass or strip curtains.
Entry will be restricted to customers, caregivers of customers or minor dependents of customers, and shared items in waiting areas that cannot be disinfected, like magazines, must be discarded.
Employees and customers must both wear face masks at all times. If the customer has to temporarily remove a face mask for the service being provided, the employee must wear a face shield or goggles in addition to the face mask.
“As we continue to slowly reopen different parts of our state, it’s critical that we listen to the experts and follow the medical science to avoid a second wave of infections,” Whitmer said. “The good news is that we are headed in the right direction, and if the current trajectory continues, I anticipate we’ll be able to announce more sectors reopening in the coming weeks.”
Northern Michigan will be able to reopen hair salons on June 10 as they will move to phase five of Whitmer’s MI Safe Start plan to safely reopen Michigan’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regions six and eight of the plan will also be allowed to reopen movie theaters and gyms with social distancing rules in place on June 10, and larger outdoor gatherings of up to 250 people will be allowed. Outdoor sporting and performance venues will also be allowed to reopen for up to 500 people, possibly allowing for graduation ceremonies to take place.
Region six of the state includes the following counties: Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Crawford, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Presque Isle and Emmet.
Region eight of the state includes the following counties: Gogebic, Ontonagon, Houghton, Keweenaw, Iron, Baraga, Dickinson, Marquette, Menominee, Delta, Alger, Schoolcraft, Luce, Mackinac and Chippewa.
Sports and entertainment facilities that reopen – including move theaters, concert halls, arenas, amusement parks, arcades and bowling alleys – will have to limit their seating capacity to the extent necessary to enable customers who are not from the same household to maintain a six feet distance from one another. Theaters will be limited to no more than 25% capacity per screening room.
Physical dividers, marked floors, signs and other visual cues will be installed to indicate a six foot distance between each customer.
Safe exit procedures will be developed, such as dismissing groups based on ticket number or row.
Employees who interact with customers, like ushers, will be trained on how to monitor and enforce compliance with the COVID-19 protocols.
Facilities will be required to disinfect and deep clean the facility after each event or, as necessary, throughout the day. High-touch surfaces must be disinfected frequently during events and throughout the day.
Self-serve food or drink options, like drink stations, will remain closed.
Gyms that reopen will be required to disinfect equipment after each use, close steam rooms and saunas and ensure that workout statins are at least ten feet apart without physical barriers or six feet apart with physical barriers.
Gyms will also be required to increase the introduction and circulation of outdoor air as much as possibly by opening windows and doors and using fans.
Whitmer previously announced that restaurants and bars will be allowed to reopen statewide beginning June 8.
Michigan had 58,241 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state Thursday, and 5,595 people have died from the virus.
Of the confirmed cases, 2,046 are in Genesee County, and 253 people in the county have died from the virus.