Michigan expected to announce 'stay at home' order Monday as coronavirus cases climb

UPDATE, 11:03 a.m.: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed an executive order that issues a "stay at home" order for Michigan. See the new story here.

As cases of COVID-19 soar in Michigan and deaths mount statewide as well as across the nation, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was expected to announce a "stay at home" order for Michigan at 11 a.m. Monday, sources told the Free Press.

The governor's office was holding a conference call Monday morning with business leaders, who have publicly expressed concern about such an order, which is expected to take effect at midnight tonight, doing too much damage to the state's economy.

The exact details of the order were not known, but orders in other states have included exemptions for essential purposes such as shopping for food or drugs, getting medical attention, buying fuel, and walking a pet or getting exercise. Those orders have also included exemptions for certain manufacturing operations.

"I'm optimistic that the the governor will find that middle ground," Michigan Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rich Studley said Monday, just ahead of the call with the governor's office.

Whitmer has been reviewing Michigan's weekend surge of cases that more than doubled the count, now in excess of 1,000, with nine deaths.

On Sunday, she and state heath officials saw governors in Ohio and Louisiana issue similar orders, sometimes known as partial lockdowns, or "shelter in place" orders. Those states joined New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey in forbidding residents from leaving home. Ohio residents were ordered to "shelter in place" for the next two weeks.

Such a directive could soon spread to Michigan and other states, as cases nationwide topped 33,000, with at least 390 dead, including the nine in Michigan, according to a Reuters tally Sunday night.

Whitmer appeared Sunday on ABC and Fox News national public affairs TV programs, telling Michigan residents to stay home unless it is essential to go outside, but stopping short of issuing an emergency order to that effect.

According to state health officials, Detroit alone logged more than 300 cases and Washtenaw County announced its first death. Michigan cases as of Sunday totaled 325 in Detroit, 158 in the rest of Wayne County, 277 in Oakland County and 140 in Macomb County.

Despite closures ordered by the state of a long list of public facilities, including schools, the virus count in Michigan accelerated rapidly over the weekend. Whitmer, after issuing an order Saturday closing barbershops as well as hair and nail salons, appeared Sunday on television shows to defend her refusal to order a lockdown.

"Trust me, we are continuing to determine what we need to do to keep people safe, and to keep our health systems from being overwhelmed," Whitmer told Fox News.

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The main difference between urging people to stay at home and issuing a lockdown order using her emergency powers is that under an order, Michigan businesses deemed non-essential would have to stop telling their employees to report to work.

On Saturday, three large Michigan business lobbying organizations, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, cautioned Whitmer against issuing such an order, saying it is difficult for the state to properly determine which businesses are in fact essential.

In response to a question about whether the federal government had bungled the nation's initial response to COVID-19, Whitmer repeated her earlier criticism of federal officials for what has been generally acknowledged to be a halting and inept response, compared with that of other countries.

"Lives will be lost" and the economy will take longer to recover "because we (as a federal government) didn't take this seriously, early enough," she said. "But I'm not going to belabor this" because "right now, I need the federal government" to aid Michigan and other states, she said.

In Detroit, 233 Detroit police officers were quarantined as of Sunday — more than 10% of the city's sworn officers — after each had been exposed to someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19. Chief James Craig said he might seek assistance from the Michigan State Police if the number of quarantined officers continues to grow, although 150 of them could be back at work this week if they don't show symptoms, Craig said.

Quarantined officers from the east side's 9th Precinct are among those who have shown no symptoms and could be back at work soon. The precinct was hit hard with quarantines after a citizen who attended a community event later tested positive, Craig said.

There were eight confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the department — six sworn officers, a civilian contractor and a chaplain — with all recovering on Sunday, he said. The State Police — which has nearly 3,100 employee, including civilians — had not had any officers test positive for the virus, First Lt. Michael Shaw said Sunday.

Craig has ordered officers to shave their beards, as facial hair can interfere with using respirator masks. And, like chiefs around the nation, he told patrol officers to ease enforcement of low-level misdemeanor offenses and traffic violations, citing the high risk of being infected while "working in the field."

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Wayne State University announced Sunday that one student who tested positive for COVID-19 has moved to a floor set aside in a dormitory as a quarantine area — meaning, the student and others that may later move there may not leave the floor.

Although virtually all colleges nationwide have closed, Wayne State University has allowed about 1,000 students to remain in dormitories. WSU spokesman Matt Lockwood said the university set aside the quarantine floor a few weeks ago, recognizing that not all students have the ability to return home.

"They may not live locally. We have international students. We have students from out of state. And we have students where it's just not convenient to travel," Lockwood said.

Lockwood said most students had moved out of dormitories and apartments, and WSU expects that more will leave because the university is offering a $850 credit toward room and board charges for anyone who moves out early. Classes resume Monday online, following a week-long spring break. Last week, WSU reported that two employees tested positive for COVID-19.

Officials of Michigan's state prison system, in which thousands of inmates and guards must live and work in close quarters during the virus crisis, said Sunday that a third prison employee tested positive.

But the previous two employees were non-prison staffers. The new case is the first involving an employee who works where prisoners are housed. The infected employee works at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer, although officials would give no further details, citing health-privacy laws.

North of Detroit, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced Sunday that its Auburn Hills headquarters will further cut back operations at its test laboratories and pilot plant, one day employees received emails detailing sites of possible exposure at the automaker's campus of research, engineering and administration.

The shut-down starts Monday, with encouragement to work remotely, the company said in a statement.

The decision followed intense negotiations between the company and UAW officials, according to sources close to the talks. Both union and non-union employees work at the site that employs more than 10,000 people. Most white-collar workers had already begun to work remotely, but UAW members had remained on site, along with their immediate supervisors.

Automakers continue to be challenged in battling the health emergency. All Detroit Three companies have announced temporary closure of factories in the short term.

Fiat Chrysler has confirmed positive tests for factory workers in Michigan and Indiana. Meanwhile, a GM employee at its Technical Center in Warren and a Ford employee in product development in Building 5 in Dearborn tested positive for coronavirus.

Staff writers Bill Laitner, Todd Spangler, Kathleen Gray, Angie Jackson and Phoebe Wall Howard contributed to this report. The Associated Press contributed to this report.