Michigan will lift its primary COVID-19 restrictions by July 1, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday.
Outdoor capacity limits will be lifted June 1, when indoor capacity limits will also be raised to 50%. Indoor capacity limits and the state’s broad mask mandate will be fully lifted July 1 for those who received the vaccine unless unforeseen circumstances occur. The state previously planned to tie restriction changes to vaccination rates.
“The governor and state health officials have laid out a path for lifting COVID-19 restrictions in Michigan, and that is a tribute to the sacrifice of people and the willingness of so many to get vaccinated,” the Michigan State Medical Society said in a Thursday statement. “But let this be clear: We still need to do more when it comes to vaccinations. While our numbers have slowed, we need to continue our progress in order to protect people and further our move back to normal.”
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The state’s 11 p.m. curfew for bars and restaurants will also be lifted, though it is unclear what day that will effectuate.
Mask requirements for fully vaccinated individuals were lifted Saturday following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s May 13 announcement that fully vaccinated individuals need not wear a mask indoors.
Michigan will “no longer impose (any) broad mitigation measures during the pandemic, unless of course, unanticipated circumstances arise,” Whitmer added, according to Bridge Michigan, adding she didn’t expect that to happen.
“We look at this as the last moment of this type of orders,” she said.
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Nearly 57% of its residents ages 16 and older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, the state reported. Michigan has experienced nearly 900,000 cases of the virus and more than 18,700 deaths as a result of it.