Michigan’s stay-at-home order extension announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer comes with some additional restrictions intended to limit the spread of the virus - including closing off certain sections of stores.

The new stay-at-home order, which takes effect 11:59 p.m. April 9, 2020 and runs through April 30, takes the place of the previous order and bars non-essential business and travel outside the home.

Grocery stores and other retailers that sell food, medicine and other essentials are allowed to remain open during the stay-at-home order, although they’ll now be subject to additional occupancy restrictions and be required to shut down non-essential areas of the store, including sections dedicated to carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries or paint.

“If you’re not buying food or medicine or other essential items, you should not be going to the store,” Whitmer said of her decision during a Thursday news conference.

The state now has 1,076 deaths from the virus, making it the third state to report at least 1,000 deaths, following New York and New Jersey.

For the 11th consecutive day, Michigan is reporting more than 1,000 new confirmed cases of coronavirus. However, the 1,158 additional confirmed cases announced Thursday are the fewest Michigan has seen in a single day since March 31.

Many Michigan retailers that were allowed to remain open had already begun taking social distancing precautions, including limiting occupancy in their stores, but that is now required under the revised order.

Large stores must limit the number of people in the store at one time to no more than 4 customers for every 1,000 square feet of customer floor space. Small stores must limit capacity to 25 percent of the total occupancy limits, including employees, under fire codes.

If there are lines, stores will be required to establish markings to ensure six feet of social distancing while customers wait to enter the store.

The additional requirements are more restrictive than what many retailers were hoping for, said Meegan Holland, vice president of communications and marketing for the Michigan Retailers Association.

“We certainly want to respect safe distancing CDC guidelines and we want people to be safe,” she said. “We think there are ways it can be done and still allow these retailers to bring some revenue in.”

She said the association’s stance is that Michigan retailers should have the same rights as restaurants to safely provide goods to customers via curbside pickup or delivery, noting Amazon and other established online marketplace websites “are eating their lunch.”

State Rep. Jim Lower, R-Greenville, called the decision to block off sections of stores “basically nonsense."

The decision to shut down parts of stores that aren’t food and medicine comes shortly after the Michigan Farm Bureau requested the governor consider the retail sale of plants essential infrastructure, suggesting retailers were willing to comply with increased restrictions like curbside delivery.

In recent comments to Michigan Farm Bureau publication Michigan Farm News, the bureau’s Horticulture Specialist Audrey Sebolt estimated the gardening industry could lose out on between $580 and $700 million if growers can’t sell their plants, and said people might want to turn to gardening as a way to cope with stress.

“For many growers, if they’re not allowed to sell the plants already growing in greenhouses, it will mean a complete loss and an entire year without income for both the owners and their employees,” Sebolt said. “Our growers simply would like to be able to get their product into the hands of those who need it.”

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