In Gladwin County, restaurants can open for dine-in service.
Since March, the governor’s executive orders intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 prevented Michigan restaurants from offering dine-in service.
But severe flooding this month is opening the doors to restaurants in Gladwin County.
Gladwin is one of five Michigan counties covered by a state of emergency declaration signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer after damaging floods this month.
The Gladwin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says the declaration states, “Any emergency order issued in response to the COVID-19 crisis is temporarily suspended.”
In a Facebook post, the prosecuting attorney’s office says, “Given the lack of areas available to offer respite from the heat, humidity, and precipitation, the benefit in allowing restaurants to offer dine-in service to residents, emergency workers, volunteers, and property owners is clear.”
A spokesman says Michigan’s Attorney General’s office will “defer to the expertise and judgment of local law enforcement officials in determining what accommodations are necessary in order to best support emergency response efforts.”
