MDHHS Relaxes Gathering and Mask Requirements Rules
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Public health protocols relaxed for outdoor activities as more Michiganders get vaccinated with safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) updates its COVID-19 Gatherings and Face Masks epidemic order to encourage safer outdoor activities as spring and summer bring warmer weather and new opportunities to go outdoors. Under the new order, which goes into effect Thursday, May 6, and continues through Monday, May 31, masks are generally not required outdoors unless a gathering has 100 or more people.
In addition, anyone who is fully vaccinated and not experiencing symptoms is not required to wear a mask at residential gatherings, including indoors. New guidance for organized sports no longer requires routine COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated participants if they are asymptomatic. Masks continue to be required for contact sports but are no longer required outdoors during active practice and competition for non-contact sports. For example, softball and baseball players will be required to wear a mask in the dugout but not when at bat or playing first base.
These updates come on the heels of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s ‘MIVacc to Normal’ plan unveiled last Thursday. The plan is intended to set the state of Michigan on a pathway to return to normal as the state continues to push toward its goal of vaccinating 70% of Michiganders ages 16 years or older. To facilitate this goal, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will base future epidemic order actions on four vaccination-based milestones that, once achieved, will enable Michigan to take a step toward normalcy.
Local Health Officer, Rebecca Burns urges the community, “If you haven’t already, I encourage you to rise to this challenge and help put the pandemic in the rear-view mirror by getting vaccinated. Branch and St. Joseph counties are in the high 30th percentile of county residents communities with respect to the number of those age 16 and older having received their first vaccination dose; and Hillsdale County is in the low 30th percentile. So, we have a lot of work to do to hit these vaccination milestones.”
The ‘MI Vacc to Normal’ plan will use four vaccination-based milestones - using data from Michiganders 16 years or older who’ve received their first dose - to guide future steps required to get back to normal:
-
#1. 55% of Michiganders (4,453,304 residents), plus two weeks
• Allows in-person work for all sectors of business. -
#2. 60% of Michiganders (4,858,150 residents), plus two weeks
• Increases indoor capacity at sports stadiums to 25%.
• Increases indoor capacity at conference centers/banquet halls/funeral homes to 25%.
• Increases capacity at exercise facilities and gyms to 50%.
• Lifts the curfew on restaurants and bars. -
#3. 65% of Michiganders (5,262,996 residents), plus two weeks
• Lifts all indoor % capacity limits, requiring only social distancing between parties.
• Further relaxes limits on residential social gatherings. -
#4. 70% of Michiganders (5,667,842 residents), plus two weeks
• Lifts the Gatherings and Face Masks Order such that MDHHS will no longer employ broad mitigation measures unless unanticipated circumstances arise, such as the spread of vaccine-resistant variants.
According to Burns, “We know vaccination is working. COVID infections and hospitalizations have decreased among the Senior population that was first prioritized while we see an increase in infections and hospitalizations of the younger, unvaccinated population. “Now is not the time to let our guard down and risk contracting COVID-19 with more contagious variants emerging and vaccines becoming widely available,” continued Burns, “Wear your mask, wash your hands, avoid crowds, and get your vaccine. You must continue to take preventive measures even after you’re vaccinated because it takes at least two weeks for a vaccine’s full protection to kick in following the last dose, and it will take time to vaccinate everyone.”
Vaccine appointments can be made on the BHSJCHA website at www.bhsj.org/scheduling or a list of pharmacies scheduling vaccine appointments near you . Vaccine Finder