Detroit City Wire

Michigan restaurant owners can resume indoor dining in light of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement of a Feb. 1 reopening.

Indoor dining is now allowed in restaurants and bars under stricter guidelines. 

Restaurants must keep 25 percent capacity, with no more than 100 people in total, only six diners per table, and tables must be six feet apart.

Outdoor tents with four sides are also permitted under the same safety measures, CickOnDetroit reported. 

Additionally, these businesses must collect contact information from diners for contact tracing purposes and are expected to be closed by 10 p.m. 

“The pause has worked,” Whitmer said. “The efforts we have made together to protect our families, frontline workers, and hospitals have dramatically reduced cases and we have saved lives.”

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services former Director Robert Gordon reminded the public that  “the science is clear that unmasked, indoor activities like dining and drinking are still a source of high risk around COVID-19. The safest course remains to support your favorite restaurant with carryout, delivery, or outdoor dining.”

“If individuals choose to eat out, there are two things they can do to make it much safer: go out only with members of their own household and choose a restaurant participating in the MI COVID-19 Safer Dining certification program,” Gordon added.

Whitmer and the MDHHS have twice shut down indoor dining, with the latest ban ending last Monday. The new order will last three weeks.