Kayla Ruble, Robert Klemko
\nMSM<\/p>\n
HOWELL, Mich. \u2014It’s a Monday morning and the Sunrise Family Diner is full. Retirees in jeans and plaid sit by the window, chatting over coffee and the local newspaper. A sign posted at the entrance urges customers to wear masks, but some don’t. They get seated anyway, within arm’s length of strangers in other booths.<\/p>\n
Michigan is under shutdown, but inside Sunrise Family Diner, you might assume there is no pandemic.<\/p>\n
This is the other rebellion. While armed extremists gathered outside the statehouse in Lansing a week after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in support of President Donald Trump\u2019s false claims of election fraud, dozens of restaurateurs across Michigan held their own protests against reality.<\/p>\n
The restaurants are operating in open defiance of the state\u2019s polarizing governor and the restrictions she ordered in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The businesses say the science on which the rules are based \u2014 pushed by the state health department, World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u2014 is politicized and untrustworthy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s as bad as they\u2019re saying it is,\u201d diner owner David Koloski said. \u201cThe whole thing with the coronavirus is political. I think [Democrats] are dug in and unwilling to move on this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their protests have thrived for weeks thanks to law enforcement officers who support their cause and state residents willing to travel hours in some cases to patronize businesses where they can flaunt their distaste for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and her rules. So far, cease-and-desist orders and fines have done little to dissuade the businesses, and state officials have declined to discuss what recourse they have for dealing with the revolt.<\/p>\n
But the consequences are clear, some health professionals say: Even as Michigan\u2019s coronavirus rates have declined, many of the state\u2019s hospitals remain at capacity because of covid-19 patients.<\/p>\n
Less than 40 miles away from Sunrise Family Diner, Lansing\u2019s Sparrow Hospital has exceeded 90 percent capacity since April, even with multiple ICU expansions. Since last winter, more than 100 hospital caregivers have tested positive for the coronavirus and two have died. The hospital has lost more than 160 patients to covid since the pandemic began.<\/p>\n
Sparrow president Alan Vierling describes driving past open restaurants and bars \u2014 and even more often the obvious house party or big family gathering \u2014 and how angry it makes him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see that and you know that there\u2019s a percentage of these folks, once they get covid, some of them will die. And it doesn\u2019t have to be that way,\u201d said Vierling, a registered nurse. \u201cThis isn\u2019t like getting leukemia, where you can do everything right and get leukemia and die. With this, you have a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The scenario here in Michigan is one that is expected to play out increasingly around the country as the pandemic drags on, presenting a challenge for the Biden administration and its plans to use a science-based approach to combating the virus after the previous administration spent much of the past year downplaying its severity and refusing to mandate restrictions \u2014 or even model medically recommended protocols.<\/p>\n
Koloski, 39, said he can\u2019t afford to abide by the state\u2019s guidelines that limit restaurants to takeout service only.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we didn\u2019t open, we would have shuttered. Doors closed. Out of a house, out of a job, out of a car. Me and the rest of my staff,\u201d said Koloski, who has seven employees.<\/p>\n
Besides, he said, \u201cI\u2019m not holding a gun to anybody\u2019s head and making them come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
So the diner reopened earlier this month, advertising with a group known as Stand Up Michigan. The group, organized by several western Michigan business owners, has held rallies and demonstrations against pandemic-related restrictions across the state, including at the state Capitol.<\/p>\n
Restaurants \u201ccan\u2019t live on takeout,\u201d said group co-founder Ron Armstrong, whose business manufactures displays and exhibits for trade shows. \u201cSome people said: \u2018Either I\u2019m going to have them come and take my keys or I\u2019m going to have to give my keys to the bank. Those are my two choices, but I will not not be open anymore.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, hospitals such as Sparrow are reeling from the consequences of such decisions.<\/p>\n
On any given day, the hospital typically has five to 10 ICU beds available \u2014 and 30 to 40 patients who need them.<\/p>\n
Vierling has been forced to supplement his staff with 90 traveling nurses who work 12-hour shifts, five days a week and live in nearby long-term-stay hotels.<\/p>\n
The hospital turned its break rooms into respite rooms after seeing caregivers, one after another, retreat to the rooms to weep. It added massage chairs to soothe and distract.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019d have told me before the pandemic that massage chairs would be one of the biggest, smartest decisions I\u2019d make in this job, I\u2019d say you were crazy,\u201d Vierling said. \u201cWe have to try to provide some comfort. We\u2019re trying to save as many lives as possible, and every time we lose somebody, that\u2019s devastating. It\u2019s like watching somebody drown slowly for 10 days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitmer announced on Jan. 22 that the state would allow restaurants to resume limited dine-in service beginning Monday. Seating will be limited to 25\u00a0percent of capacity and tables must be six feet apart with no more than six people per table. They also must close at 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that it has not been easy,\u201d Whitmer said, referring to the roughly 2\u00bd month ban.<\/p>\n
But, she said, data shows that the state\u2019s actions have worked, and that if people continue to follow the recommendations of the scientific community, further restrictions might not be necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe science around this virus is settled, and if we can all wear masks and be very smart about congregating, and not do it unless it\u2019s necessary, washing our hands, doing that social distancing, we will be in a strong position in a few weeks,\u201d Whitmer said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ll be able to do more. That\u2019s the hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
But even the loosening of some of the rules isn\u2019t enough for the members of Stand Up Michigan, many of whom said they would continue operating at full capacity.<\/p>\n
At All Star Coney Island, it was a full house on a recent Sunday night, with all but one booth filled. That tabletop was reserved for a large sheet of paper on which customers had written thank-you messages to the owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cFreedom is given by God. God bless this business!\u201d one customer wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for being Patriots! Freedom!\u201d wrote another.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to use common sense. It\u2019s been too long,\u201d said a maskless Kathy Holcomb, 67, as she left the restaurant. \u201cWe stay safe. We wash our hands. We wear our masks \u2014 well, not just now,\u201d she added, laughing.<\/p>\n
Stand Up Michigan keeps a running list of restaurants that are open in defiance of the ban, posting weekly updates for its members, who also swap intel among themselves on the group\u2019s social media site about restaurants they\u2019ve discovered and businesses that allow customers to walk freely through their establishments unmasked.<\/p>\n
The number fluctuates, but has more than 60 restaurants in 33 counties spread across the state from the Ohio border to the northernmost reaches of the Upper Peninsula.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s online messaging goes beyond promoting open restaurants to disseminating false information and deceptive data to downplay the risks of the virus. For example, when discussing the risks of indoor dining, Armstrong claims that it is safer to be in a restaurant than it is to be in your home, saying more cases of coronavirus are contracted in small indoor gatherings in people\u2019s homes than in restaurants. He does not provide any data to back up his claim.<\/p>\n
Hospital admissions have dropped significantly in recent weeks, but 18 of the restaurants in Stand Up Michigan are in places where hospitals remain above 90 percent capacity.<\/p>\n
As of Friday, Michigan had more than 557,883 confirmed coronavirus cases and 14,497 deaths, according to data from the state health department. Positivity rates were dropping as well, with more than half the state\u2019s counties reporting seven-day positivity averages of less than 6 percent. But 17 of the state\u2019s hospitals remain at 90 to 100 percent capacity, including the two in Lansing that serve several surrounding counties.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 15, when new restrictions were announced, including the ban on indoor dining, Michigan was at 733 cases per million, according to health department spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin. \u201cTwo months in, the current number on our dashboard is 207 per million, a decline of more than 70 percent,\u201d Sutfin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d like to think if people could see the results and know they\u2019re possibly putting people in harm\u2019s way, they wouldn\u2019t do it,\u201d said Vierling, the hospital president. \u201cBut with this virus, it\u2019s very likely large numbers of people are responsible for deaths of other people and never know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since mid-November, the state liquor control commission has suspended the licenses of 34 establishments for violating the emergency orders. Two restaurants have received fines of several thousand dollars, including a former Big Boy restaurant that was forced to give up its franchise agreement \u2014 and the iconic Big Boy statue \u2014 over its continued refusal to shut down.<\/p>\n
State health officials declined to discuss what recourse they have for dealing with restaurants that continue to defy orders, or their plans for future enforcement.<\/p>\n
Restaurants such as Jimmy\u2019s Roadhouse, on the west side of the state in the town of Newaygo, have continued to operate through cease-and-desist orders and without a liquor license. It\u2019s become a symbol of the restaurant defiance movement.<\/p>\n
Jimmy\u2019s also has become a destination for indoor-dining tourists, people who travel from all over the state seeking a place to publicly display their disdain for masks and social distancing.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the weekends, that\u2019s one of the tourist attractions. And people drive three, four hours, with their families, elderly people,\u201d owner Jimmy Cory said, noting that one of his \u201cregulars\u201d is an elderly couple that drives two hours from the northern Michigan town of Traverse City.<\/p>\n
Cory says the restrictions are merely rules, not laws, and he doesn\u2019t plan to follow them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything outside of the food code and the liquor code that I\u2019ve been following my entire restaurant career is bull—t and unconstitutional,\u201d he said, adding that \u201ccurfews are for comrades.\u201d<\/p>\n
Restaurants in many communities appear to have the support of local police, which is complicating enforcement efforts. OSKAR Scots restaurant in the village of Caledonia, was hit with a cease-and-desist order from Kent County\u2019s health department on Jan. 11. A sheriff\u2019s deputy visited to let the owner know that the department\u2019s phone had been blowing up with reports about the business being open in defiance of the restrictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Well what happens next with you?\u2019 And he goes, \u2018Nothing.\u2019 He goes, \u2018I\u2019ll be seeing you tomorrow for coffee and breakfast,\u2019\u2009\u201d owner Randall Scot recalled.<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s department did not respond to requests for comment. The county health department said it could not comment on specific cases.<\/p>\n
Scot, 52, said a trip to Florida convinced him to ignore the state restrictions. His family visited the Sunshine State, where restaurants are allowed to remain open at 100 percent capacity, over Christmas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided at that point of time I\u2019ll never shut my dining room down again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Scot, who received a second cease-and-desist order from the county health department on Jan. 19, said operating at 25 percent of capacity simply isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have the right to not be deprived of my life, liberty or property without due process of law,\u201d Scot said via a text message. \u201cI have fantastic representation and will fight if I have to. I am STANDING UP.\u201d<\/p>\n