The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)\u00a0is requiring<\/a> restaurants, barbershops, tattoo parlors, recreational facilities, and entertainment establishments to record the names, contact information, and visit times of all customers to \u201caid with contact tracing.\u201d Any establishment that does not comply is threatened with a maximum $200 fine, a misdemeanor charge punishable with up to six months in prison, and a $1,000 civil fine for violating the state\u2019s emergency orders.<\/p>\n The order, announced Friday, comes as Michigan\u2019s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her administration began backtracking on the state\u2019s latest reopening plan and tightening COVID-19 restrictions, citing rising hospitalizations and deaths. Other states including New York have implemented similar contact tracing rules, requiring restaurants to record diners\u2019 information in the case of an outbreak.<\/p>\n In addition to scaling back the number of people at gatherings at indoor venues from 500 to 50, the order also advised against shouting and screaming at events, claiming that cheering could spread the virus in the air 30 times more than speaking.\u00a0The newly announced restrictions also emphasized and extended the use of face masks, including on children as young as 2 years old at daycare, school, or \u201csimilar indoor settings.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the year, Whitmer signed an executive order threatening<\/a>\u00a0a misdemeanor charge and $500 fine for anyone wouldn\u2019t wear a\u00a0face mask in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces.<\/p>\n Whitmer and her administration have received criticism for her handling of the coronavirus after she signed an executive order<\/a> similar to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s ordering nursing homes and assisted living centers to readmit infected patients into facilities filled with vulnerable people.<\/p>\n \u201cA long-term care facility must not prohibit admission or readmission of a resident based on COVID-19 testing requirements or results in a manner that is inconsistent with this order,\u201d Whitmer\u2019s May\u00a0executive order reads<\/a>. The elderly are by far the majority of those who have died with the virus present in their bodies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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