Governor Whitmer announces "MI Vacc To Normal" Plan

(LANSING, Mich.) Vaccination milestones will be used by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) when it comes to lifting restrictions for COVID-19. 

The "MI Vacc to Normal" Plan was announced by Governor Gretchen Whitmer's office on Thursday. 

The plan features four phases that are all based on how many people over the age of 16 in Michigan have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Once two weeks have passed since 55 percent of Michiganders have received at least one shot, in person work for all sectors of the business community will be allowed. 

In the second phase of the plan, two weeks will have passed since 60 percent of Michiganders have received at least one shot. 

Once the state hits this milestone, sports stadiums, conference centers, banquet halls, and funeral homes will all be able to have their indoor capacity at 25 percent. 

The capacity at gyms will go up to 50 percent and the curfew at restaurants and bars will be lifted. 

The third vaccination milestone in the plan will be achieved once two weeks have passed since 70 percent of Michiganders have received a shot. 

With the third milestone, there won't be capacity limits for indoor activities, but different parties will still have to be social distanced from each other. 

The restrictions for residential social gatherings will also relax once the third milestone is reached. 

The fourth milestone will require two weeks to have passed since 70 percent of Michiganders to have received at least one shot.

Once this milestone is achieved, the Gatherings and Face Mask Order will be lifted. 

At this point the MDHHS will only be using broad mitigation measures under certain circumstances like the spread of variants that are resistant to the vaccine. 

“The MI Vacc to Normal challenge outlines steps we can take to emerge from this pandemic as we hit our vaccination targets together,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “On our path to vaccinating 70% of Michiganders 16 and up, we can take steps to gradually get back to normal while keeping people safe. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to rise to the challenge and be a part of the solution so we can continue our economic recovery and have the summer we all crave.” 

The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association also reacted to the plan and released a statement. 

"We applaud the governor for implementing what the MRLA has been requesting for months — a metric driven plan that offers incentives rather than mandates to drive better outcomes and more opportunity for the imperiled hospitality industry. We will continue our partnership with this administration to provide new avenues for restaurants and hotels to inspire and incentivize greater vaccination rates of all Michiganders so that we may quickly move past the era of capacity limits, gathering restrictions and mitigation. There are 17,000 embattled restaurants and hotels, approximately 400,000 hospitality jobs, and a much-needed upcoming summer tourism season hanging in the balance, so schedule your vaccine today, Michigan!"

As of April 29th, 48.8 percent of Michigan residents who 16 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. 

35.9 percent of Michigan residents are fully vaccinated.