Epidemic Orders Related to Food Service Operations
Wednesday December 2, 2020
For Food Service Operators
To: Food Service Operators
From: Paul Andriacchi REHS, Director of Environmental Health
Joe Frazier REHS, Program Supervisor
Re: Epidemic Orders related to food service operations
Date: December 2, 2020
The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has been fielding a number of complaints associated with the epidemic orders issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) effective November 18, 2020. The orders require amongst other restrictions, that there is to be no indoor service of food or beverages. Unfortunately, we have received complaints and verified that a food service operation has disregarded the order and has opened for indoor dining. Our staff has been working toward gaining compliance with this facility through all means available to us.
We understand the hardship the shutdowns have put on your businesses and we are sincerely sympathetic to the great financial burden this has placed on your businesses and personal lives. Our job is to protect, to the best of our ability, the public health of the community that we serve. We sincerely appreciate all of you who have followed the guidelines set forth in the original Executive Orders issued by Governor Whitmer as well as the latest Epidemic Orders issued by MDHHS. The cases continue to increase at a high rate in all three counties within our agency so we encourage you to continue to follow the epidemic orders so we can all move past this crisis as quickly as possible.
There are some state funded programs that may be able to help your businesses with potential grant money. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced Monday that they plan to distribute $10 million dollars in CARES Act funding. The grants can be for as much as $15,000 for eligible businesses. The applications are not open yet but will show up on Michiganbusiness.org/relief sometime before December 16. It is important to note that the grants are not available for the businesses that are not following the Epidemic Orders.