Kalamazoo Times

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has announced a series of aggressive new laws in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19 at indoor social gatherings, according to Bridge Michigan.

Director Robert Gordon called it a “very dangerous time” amid issuing a broad new pandemic order that will reduce the number of attendees who can gather at indoor events. These events include banquets, weddings and conferences for 500 people. The new order will limit crowd sizes to 50. 

The order only allows restaurants and bars to seat six people at a table per visit. Moreover, they will be required to record the names and phone numbers of customers for potential contact tracing purposes.

The order comes after Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive, called the trends in Michigan “incredibly concerning." “Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all increasing, and unless we change our behavior now, that will continue,” Khaldun told Bridge Michigan.