(WXYZ) — “Quarantine life” will likely continue past the end of the month for Michiganders. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announcing Wednesday night another likely extension of the stay-at-home order.
This comes as the state continues to grapple with the financial fallout of the pandemic, including temporary layoffs of nearly 3,000 state employees.
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The all but certain temporary of extension of that stay-at-home order is to avoid a deadly second wave of this virus, something health experts have warned about. As for the city of Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan said Wednesday that our local economy will likely re-start in phases.
“I think you're going to see outdoor work, construction work -- things that are done in a more medically safe way go earlier. I think you’ll see some offices where people are spaced out," said Duggan.
.@MayorMikeDuggan says many small businesses in Detroit were left out of #COVID19 relief through PPP. He says the @CityofDetroit will turn its attention to business left out of last phase. "We need to make sure those folks can get their money." @wxyzdetroit pic.twitter.com/bXc0yTMjmq
— Jenn Schanz (@JennSchanzWXYZ) April 23, 2020
It’s been one month since Michigan’s first stay-at-home order took effect. Governor Whitmer announced Wednesday a second extension of that order, at least temporarily, is all but certain.
The current order will expire at the end of the month.
“We might disagree on the cadence and the timeline, we all recognize that a second wave would be devastating to our state, to our people," said Whitmer.
Bars, restaurants, sporting events will likely re-open later, and the governor has said things like nail and hair salons would be the last to come back in operation.
Still no word yet though, on exactly when that will happen. Mayor Duggan speaking on how the city of Detroit will rebound:
"You're going to see it open, I think slowly, but steadily in the coming weeks and months."
Thousands of state and city of Detroit workers have been temporarily laid off. The city is working to fill an expected $348 million budget hole due to the virus. The state will furlough 2,900, or about 6%, of its roughly 48,000 workers for two weeks to save about $5 million, according to AP.
"I can tell you what I'm going to do for city employees. Before we call them back, everybody is going to be tested," said Duggan.
According to the mayor, there’s 10,000 people from private employers in line to be tested.
Wide-spread testing is one of the crucial elements Gov. Whitmer says is needed before Michigan can get back to work.
No word yet on how long that likely extension of the stay-at-home order could be. The current one again — expires in seven days.
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