Whitmer responds to judge's ruling on ban on indoor dining

Some Mid-Michigan restaurant owners are frustrated with United States District Judge Paul Maloney ruling against a block to the ban on indoor dining for Michigan restaurants.

The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association filed the lawsuit to end the ban on Nov. 17.

The MRLA hoped its lawsuit would roll back the ban on indoor dining and declare the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ order unconstitutional. But Maloney said there was a plausible explanation for the order in protecting people’s health.

“You lose your life, that’s the ultimate price to pay. And that’s a very real possibility right now with as much COVID-19 as there is across the state of Michigan,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said.

Whitmer said she is not surprised a federal judge upheld the state’s ban on indoor dining.

The MDHHS shut down indoor dining in November as part of the state’s response to the latest uptick in COVID-19 cases.

“The problem with a restaurant setting is that you are combining lots of different households together indoors and people are taking off their masks. And those three factors are what make it more inherently risky than going to a retail shop or going to get your hair cut,” Whitmer said....(Read more)

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