The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department is declaring Emergency Order 2020-1, which requires screening and social distancing measures at open businesses and operations subject to the Governor's Executive Order 2020-21.

The emergency order goes into effect on Monday, April 6 at noon and will end April 13 at 11:59pm.

Benzie-Leelanau Health Officer Lisa Peacock says as the threat of COVID-19 increases, she has determined that controls are necessary to reduce transmission of COVID-19. “I now feel it necessary to take additional steps to protect critical infrastructure workers and the general public."

Peacock tells The Leelanau Ticker that the order adds a new layer of precaution, as it now requires businesses that are still operating to implement a daily screening program for all workers who do not work from their residence. Documentation of the screening is also part of the new order.

Businesses are also required to develop and implement a plan to manage and control social/physical distancing (at least 6 feet spacing) for workers alongside one another and customers waiting in lines within or outside the business, and limit capacity inside facilities to provide for social distancing of customers and between customers and workers.

The complete emergency order, which includes detailed instructions on how to conduct the daily screening, can be found here.

“The intent is really to protect the essential workers who need to leave their homes to provide services that we all need,” Peacock says. “There is an increasing number of COVID-19 cases across Michigan and across northern Michigan. The capacity for testing had been severely limited. The more we test the more positives we find. Even in areas that have not seen lot of positives, we believe the virus is out there and people are affected.”

Additional resources to assist businesses in implementing these protective measures can be found here or on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guidelines and Resources for Businesses. Peacock says the health department has a documentation tool that will be helpful for employers and they are “most welcome to call the Public Health Information Line, 231-882- 2197, with any questions.”

Peacock is also the local Health Officer for Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego Counties, where the same order goes in effect Monday, April 6 at noon. She says, “some of my colleagues downstate have already issued orders like this and I think you will see others in Northern Michigan looking at something similar, too.”

“We want to see as few people out as possible,” she adds. “The key to social distancing is to keep people at home. And we want those who have to be out to be as safe as they can be.”