(WWJ) Detroit's mayor says all COVID-19 safety rules and regulations remain in place in the city, after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's orders were essentially scrapped by the state Supreme Court.
Mayor Mike Duggan announced Friday that the Detroit Health Department is mirroring Whitmer's orders. The city, he said, is adopting the mask mandate and pretty much every other COVID-19 health and safety order voided last week when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled against Whitmer's continued use of emergency powers, asserting that the law she used to renew the emergency without legislative approval was unconstitutional.
Friday's news comes amid what Duggan described as "confusion" over the court's order. While the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services re-issued the orders by its own authority, under a different law not affected by the ruling, some have wondered whether the orders still hold weight.
In Detroit at least, it's now clear that they do.
"We're going to take all those orders that you knew about last week and they're going to be in effect next week and the week after, no matter what the court does," Duggan said, at a news conference. "So what we are doing is guaranteeing the Detroiters will have the protection of Gov. Whitmer's orders no matter what happens in the courts."
The city health department's orders are being issued under the Public Health Code of 1978, which Duggan says gives health officials the power to act during a public health emergency.
Denise Fair, Chief Public Health Officer for the City of Detroit and the Detroit Health Department, said COVID-19 rules and regulations remain "virtually unchanged." - READ THEM HERE -
Along with requiring masks in public spaces, notable orders include a 50% capacity limit at restaurants and bars and 15% at casinos, as well as limits on the size of public and private gatherings.
"What we are going to do is make sure the city has certainty and continuity. Because what we are doing is making sure that the steps the governor has taken continue to protect the City of Detroit," Duggan said.
While Duggan acknowledge that Detroit has a relatively low infection at this point (1.8% compared to 3.5% statewide), he asserted that Detroiters still remain in danger from the deadly virus.
The mayor urged continued caution as he took at swipe at President Donald Trump, who -- after himself contracting and being treated for COVID-19 -- urged Americans not to let it "dominate your lives."
"Here's the truth: If somebody in Detroit gets COVID-19 there's no helicopter coming to take you to Walter Reed Hospital for the latest experimental treatment. We're going to have to act to protect each other," Duggan said.
Meanwhile, the Whitmer administration will continue to battle it out in the courts. Currently, the governor is waiting for clarification from Supreme Court justices as to whether their ruling on her orders went into immediate effect, or if she has 21 days to work with the Legislature on a deal to keep some of them in place.
