LANSING – Residential and commercial construction and certain outdoor businesses will be among the next sectors of Michigan's economy to go back to work as the state recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday.

And that could happen in the "next week or two," Whitmer said at a Monday news conference in the Romney Building, across the street from the Capitol.

At the same time, "we're taking a hard look at industrial" workplaces, to see how soon they can reopen, Whitmer said.

Whitmer, joined by business and health care leaders, began to set out an approach that would reopen the economy by region and in phases, with companies and industries that are at the lowest risk for the spread of the coronavirus, and regions that are least impacted by the virus while having adequate hospital facilities to handle an outbreak, opening first.

Gerry Anderson, executive chairman of DTE Energy and co-chair of Whitmer's Michigan Economic Recovery Council, said his team has divided Michigan into eight regions based on a number of factors such as travel patterns to and from work, regional hospital systems, how badly the epidemic has hit each area, and how well-equipped and prepared the area's hospitals are.

Those regions are: the Detroit region in southeastern Michigan; the Grand Rapids region in the west central Lower Peninsula; the Kalamazoo region in southwestern Michigan; the Saginaw region, which includes the Thumb area and extends all the way north to Oscoda and Alcona counties; the Lansing region, in central Michigan; the Traverse City region, in the northern Lower Peninsula, including Mackinac Island; the Jackson region, in south central Michigan, and the Upper Peninsula, which is a region on its own.

Each region can progress from a state considered "urgent," where Michigan as a whole is now placed, to "stabilizing," to "recovery," Anderson said.

The key indicators of readiness for an economic restart will be flattening the curve of the spread of the epidemic, health care system capacity, and the ability to track and isolate contacts, officials said.

The team, which includes representatives of business, government and labor, also is dividing Michigan's workplaces into types, assessed for "high," "medium," and "low" risk, aided by occupational health experts from U-M, Anderson said.

Worker interaction and the number of workers in a workplace will be among the factors considered in assessing risk.

About 29% of Michigan's workforce is employed in offices, 19% in industrial settings, 13% in health care, and 12% in retail, officials said.

Businesses will be required to carefully monitor employees for symptoms, including taking temperatures, instituting an array of social distancing techniques, strengthening sanitation and hygiene, and providing protective equipment such as masks and face shields, officials said.

In addition to business leaders, Whitmer is working with a team of medical experts on her plans to reopen the economy.

Whitmer first cited construction and certain unnamed "outdoor enterprises" as likely candidates for loosening of social distancing restrictions in a Monday interview with Politico Playbook.

Construction normally employs about 200,000 people in Michigan, including the commercial, industrial and residential sectors, plus suppliers, said Kevin Koehler, president of the Construction Association of Michigan.

"Every time you open up a different sector of the economy, you run the risk of having a spike," Whitmer said.

With a few exceptions, construction has been declared "nonessential" under restrictions imposed to keep Michigan residents at home, bringing most state projects to a halt. Some road construction projects have continued.

Koehler, president of a trade group that represents 2,500 commercial and industrial construction contractors, told the Free Press earlier that his organization is urging leaders in Lansing to deem construction work essential. Construction workers already are well versed in wearing safety equipment like respirators, gloves and ear and eye protection, he said.

"We are very hopeful that Gov. Whitmer will make the decision to begin restarting Michigan’s construction industry," Koehler said in a Monday email.

Though Michigan has not been unanimous about Whitmer's stay-at-home order during a state of emergency related to COVID-19, Whitmer said she believes the state is unanimous in not wanting a second spike.

More:Advocates: Michiganders with disabilities face coronavirus discrimination

More:Construction projects at Michigan schools delayed — and it could cost more in the long run

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, speaking during a tele-town hall meeting Monday with the Detroit Regional Chamber, called on Whitmer to accelerate Michigan's return to work.

Whitmer's "pretty aggressive" stay-at-home order has paid dividends, Shirkey said. But now it is time to "get outside our comfort zones" to restore not just Michigan's economy, but its culture, Shirkey said.

With appropriate safeguards, Michigan residents need to be able to not just work, but socialize and sometimes "hug each other," he said.

Whitmer, a Democrat, was asked Monday about the situation in Ohio, where Republican Gov. Mike DeWine plans to start to reopen the economy around May 1, with offices, construction companies and other businesses opening first, and retail stores opening May 12.

Whitmer said she and DeWine have agreed on many aspects of handling the pandemic, but the situation in Michigan, with far more cases and far more deaths from COVID-19, is vastly different from the situation in Ohio.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.