Michigan Restaurants and Bars to Collect Customers’ Names + Numbers as Restrictions Tighten [VIDEO]
Beginning on Monday, you'll have to leave your name and number if you visit a restaurant or bar in the state of Michigan.
As Michigan's COVID-19 positivity rate has been on the rise (Wednesday, the state reported 8.6% of those tested were positive), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will require establishments that serve food and/liquor to collect the names and phone numbers of all patrons who enter their facilities. This information will be used for contact tracing purposes.
Other restrictions in Michigan are once again being tightened. Crowds at indoor venues with fixed seating will be limited to 50 people, that's down from the old limit of 500. Restaurants will be permitted to seat a maximum number of six people per table.
According to the MDHHS, indoor gatherings are 20 times more likely than outdoor gatherings to drive coronavirus outbreaks.
Governor Whitmer's office has shifted the Traverse City region backward in the state's reopening plan. The governor's office says the number of statewide hospitalizations have doubled in the last three weeks and that Michigan has seen an increase in the death rate in each of the last five weeks.
As the holidays approach, the state's department of health is recommending that families limit gatherings to occupants of no more that two households and a total number of 10 people.
Full details of the state's updated gatherings and facemask guidelines can be seen here.