(WWJ) Hours before gyms were set to reopen, the Court of Appeals put on the brakes.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling to keep them closed shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday, siding with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who had sought to keep them closed. They were set to reopen, over Whitmer's objections, today.
The late-Wednesday court order says Whitmer's executive order that prevents them from reopening needs to stay in place while an appeal of U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney's decision of last week to reopen them was heard.
If they reopened, the public could be placed at risk by a second spike in infections caused by coronavirus or COVID-19, the panel ruled late Wednesday.
"We sympathize deeply with the business owners and their patrons affected by the governor's order," the ruling said. "Crises like COVID-19 can call for quick, decisive measures to save lives. Yet those measures can have extreme costs — costs that often are not borne evenly."
"The decision to impose those costs rests with the political branches of government, in this case, Governor Whitmer," the court said.
A week ago, the federal court ruled that while that state did right the right thing when it shut down gyms at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor cannot allow other types of businesses to reopen — including swimming pools, restaurants and bars, and "personal touch" services — while gyms must remain closed.
The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed against Whitmer by in a case brought by 20 gym companies and the League of Independent Fitness Facilities and Trainers.
