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Whitmer: Restrictions on office work will be extended

Rick Pluta

The state will continue an order that bans in-person office work if it can be done remotely. Governor Gretchen Whitmer said so Monday after touring a mass vaccination site at Eastern Michigan University.

Whitmer said the extension gives the state time to develop and enact back-to-work plans. But, she said, that should NOT take the full six months the extension allows.

The governor wants schools to voluntarily pause in-person classes and sports meets, but has resisted calls for new mandates. 

“I believe government’s role is when we can’t take action to protect ourselves, the government must step in. That’s where we were a year ago. That’s where we were four months ago. We’re in a different moment. Everyone has the ability and knowledge to do what it takes.”

At roughly the same time, the director of the CDC said Michigan *should* mandate more closures to curb a third COVID surge.