Dear friends,

I hope you are taking precautions to stay safe and healthy. As we all continue to do our part to maintain social distancing and practice good hygiene, we will be able to return sooner to our normal lives.

The information regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus is fluid, so I thought it would be a good idea to send you periodic updates to keep you informed.

I trust you will find this information helpful for you and your loved ones.

I also will be sharing the latest information on my Senate Facebook page. If you have any questions or need to get in contact with me, feel free to call my office toll-free at 1-855-347-8015 or by email at [email protected].

In your service,

Senator Jim Runestad
Serving the 15th State Senate District

EO 2020-42: Gov. Whitmer has extended the stay-at-home order through April 30. Stores must limit the number of customers in their stores at any given time. Large stores must also shut down sales of nonessential goods such as carpeting, furniture, paint or garden centers. Travel to vacation rentals or second homes in Michigan is prohibited. The full text of the order can be found here.

The webpage www.michigan.gov/coronavirus remains the best source of information on Michigan’s response.

As of Friday, April 10:

Gov. Whitmer has ordered all travel outside our homes to be restricted, except for the following reasons:

Businesses that are nonessential can still designate certain employees to show up to work “to conduct minimum basic operations.” The governor warned businesses, “not to play fast and loose with what is essential.”

Critical infrastructure workers are not expected to stay home but report to work as usual. Those involved in critical infrastructure are in the following fields:

The state of Michigan has created this webpage to help businesses navigate whether or not their employees meet the definition of critical infrastructure for an exception to EO 2020-21.

Doctors now recommend that all Americans wear a face mask when interacting in public.

In order to ensure our finite testing resources are used most effectively, follow these steps if you suspect you may have COVID-19:

1) Contact your primary physician or nearest urgent care center if you think you are exhibiting symptoms. Call them first; do not simply drive to their location.
2) Your medical provider will call a 24/7 hotline to seek approval to have you tested.
3) If you are approved, you will be directed to one of many drive-through testing sites being set up around the state. If you are not approved, you may still go through a private lab to arrange for your own testing.
4) Results of the test are generally expected in five to seven days. The state is ramping up its own in-house testing procedures to create a faster turnaround time.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus, which is spread by person-to-person contact. Wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. Stay home if you are not feeling well.

If your firm has retooled to produce personal protection equipment (PPE) and you want to get your products to those in need, please email your inquiries to [email protected].

The state launched a new website seeking medical professionals and residents to volunteer to help fight the pandemic.

Send a video message to a loved one in a nursing home to show they are not alone. Gov. Whitmer is encouraging nursing homes to facilitate virtual visits via electronic communication means. Contact our office if you need assistance in getting the cooperation of your local nursing home.

The Legislature has passed a $150 million emergency spending plan to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

At a brief session held on April 7, the Legislature confirmed the governor’s state of emergency declaration and extended it through April 30. At that time, we will evaluate the facts on the ground and determine the next steps.

The Michigan Senate is convening a bipartisan work group called Safe Behavior for Safe Workplaces that will present a list of recommendations to the governor by April 17. The goal is to get Michigan’s economy back up and running and transition from a categorization of business operations as either “essential” or “nonessential” and look at evaluating how different economic activities can be conducted safely or more safely under social distancing guidelines.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have shipped or are en route to deliver across the nation: 47.8 million N95 masks, 57.6 million surgical masks, 5.2 million face shields, 9 million surgical gowns, 62.6 million gloves and 8,450 medical beds.

As of April 6, FEMA has shipped 8,920 ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile and the Department of Defense to the states. Michigan has received 700 ventilators, the third largest amount, trailing only New York (4,440) and New Jersey (1,350).

In addition:

A new website has been launched to help small business owners apply for the federal Paycheck Protection Program, a loan program through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Firms can also look here for more information on federal resources available to job providers and formally apply at this website.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation call center stands ready to support businesses looking for assistance through other available state programs. For more information, visit the MEDC’s website or call 888-522-0103.

The Small Business Association of Michigan has a daily Facebook live feed to answer questions of job providers around the state. The feed is open to members and nonmembers alike. You can watch the feed here at 3 p.m.

As always, the best place to begin your search for answers to your questions is www.michigan.gov/coronavirus.

Here is the online unemployment application. You can also call 865-500-0017.

Gov. Whitmer, under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed an agreement between Michigan and the U.S. Dept. of Labor to implement pandemic unemployment assistance and compensation programs that grant benefits to workers who do not already qualify for state unemployment benefits.

Workers include self-employed, 1099-independent contractors, gig, and low-wage workers who can no longer work because of the pandemic. The agreement also increases weekly benefits for all unemployed workers by $600 a week for up to four months and extends benefit payments from 26 to 39 weeks.

This applies to workers already in the unemployment system and eligible employees who still need to apply. These workers do not need to reapply if they have already applied, and those who still need to apply do not need to take additional steps and should file as usual.

UIA will provide additional guidance regarding eligibility and application details in the coming days as it implements these new programs.

Call centers have expanded to be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Gov. Whitmer has closed schools for the remainder of the school year. Districts will develop plans to ensure their students continue to learn, and they will implement the plans no later than April 28.

The state could be down billions of dollars in tax revenue for the current fiscal year (ending Sept. 30) and next year’s budget due to the slowdown in the state and national economies.

More than 6.5 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits each of the last two weeks due to stay-at-home orders and nonessential business shutdowns issued across the country. That is nearly 10 times the previous record week for a surge in applications, which was set in 1982. In just three weeks, nearly 17 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits, far exceeding the total jobs lost in the Great Recession of 2008-09. It is hoped that these losses are only temporary and Americans will be returned to work once the health crisis has subsided. The following graph shows how sudden the surge in unemployment benefits has been:

More than 800,000 people in Michigan have filed for unemployment since the business shutdown orders began.

The U.S. stock market suffered a greater percentage drop than the dot-com bubble burst in 2000-01 or the financial crisis in 2008-09. However, the S&P 500 rose 12% last week as the markets began their recovery. This is the S&P’s biggest weekly gain in nearly 50 years.

Wall Street analysts predict that this pandemic could destroy $5 trillion in global economic growth over the next two years. To put that into perspective, that would be like losing the equivalent of the entire Japanese economy.

Visit www.michigan.gov/coronavirus to find a complete list of the governor’s executive orders dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. This is also the best place to start to answer any questions you might have.