2 — Tuesday, March 17, 2020
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
With the rapidly evolving
coronavirus
outbreak
in the United States and
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s
executive order, many local
businesses are to remain
temporarily closed.
As
of
Monday
night,
there
are
54
confirmed
cases
of
COVID-19,
the
disease caused by the novel
coronavirus, in Michigan. A
case at the Vic Village-North
student apartment building
was
announced
Friday
afternoon,
shortly
after
University President Mark
Schlissel disclosed that a
member of the University of
Michigan community tested
positive for the virus.
On Thursday evening, the
city of Ann Arbor notified
residents that all events with
50 or more attendees would
be canceled. Public spaces
like the Ann Arbor Farmers
Market, Ann Arbor City
Hall, city parks and the Ann
Arbor District Libraries are
all closed.
Some
Ann
Arbor
businesses
have
independently decided to
temporarily close in order
to
mitigate
the
virus’s
spread. Those that remained
open are already noticing a
significant decrease in the
amount of foot traffic and
number of sales.
Literati Bookstore, a staple
book shop in Ann Arbor, has
closed indefinitely due to
concerns about the growing
coronavirus
outbreak.
The
change
is
effective
immediately.
Mike
and
Hilary
Gustafson, the owners of
Literati, wrote in an email to
customers that the decision
to close was difficult but
reassured customers their
store would continue online.
“What a week,” Mike
Gustafson wrote. “Hilary
and I are a bit emotional
and feel like we have some
whiplash, as I’m sure many
of you do, too. It is hard
because we feel an intense
need to come together as a
community, and yet cannot
do so physically.”
The decision to close
also comes after Whitmer
declared a state of emergency
and
the
University
of
Michigan moved all classes
online for the rest of the
winter semester, canceling
all study abroad programs
and recalling all students
outside of the country. On
Friday, Schlissel encouraged
all students still on campus
to return home if they are
able to.
On Saturday, RoosRoast
Coffee
on
East
Liberty
Street put a sign on their
door
telling
customers
they would no longer offer
seating — all food and
drinks will be served to go.
Urban Outfitters, which has
a location on State Street,
closed
all
global
stores
Saturday while Red Yoga
on Liberty Street closed
through March 28.
Melanie
Chasseur,
a
University
alum
and
employee at the clothing
store Pitaya on State Street,
said the business has no
current plans to close but has
been struggling to keep the
store running due to the fact
that most of its employees
are University students.
“About four or five of our
employees have gone home
and they had positions in
the
summer,”
Chasseur
said. “We have been having
scheduling conflicts. We are
currently hiring because we
don’t have enough employees
for the hours available.”
Chasseur said she has
noticed
that
because
Pitaya
mainly
serves
students, especially those
in fraternities or sororities,
sales have dipped as students
are urged to return to their
hometowns or stay in their
homes as often as possible.
“(The business) has been
rather dead,” Chasseur said.
“At Pitaya, I’ve been noticing
that a lot of people haven’t
been coming in. A majority
of our demographics who
shop with us are students
and students involved in
Greek life buying things for
date parties and events and
going out in general. That
has halted.”
In response to recent
developments
across
the state, Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer
ordered
the
closure of all K-12 schools in
an effort to promote social
distancing and slow the
spread of the virus. Whitmer
also banned gatherings of
250 people or more in an
executive order Friday.
At a press conference
on
Sunday,
Michigan
Attorney
General
Dana
Nessel said public spaces
like
restaurants
or
bars
could face consequences like
losing their liquor licenses
or being forced to shut down
if they violate this order.
“In the event there are
some bad apples out there
that choose not to (follow
this order), then we are
prepared
and
ready
to
defend
the
law,”
Nessel
said. “As there are further
developments,
I
trust
that the governor will do
whatever she needs to do in
the event that there needs to
be more stringent orders that
are undertaken. But for the
meantime, we are operating
under these current orders
and we’re very hopeful that
if everybody follows them,
that we’ll be able to keep the
public safe.”
In addition to bars, other
Ann Arbor businesses, such
as restaurants and cafes, are
now beginning to offer free
meals to the nearly 18,000
students in the Ann Arbor
Public Schools district.
Piada Italian Street Food
on State Street announced in
an email Saturday they would
offer free pasta and soft
drinks during lunch hours
starting
Monday,
March
16 until April 3. Similarly,
TeaHaus
in
Kerrytown
said in a Facebook post
they would begin handing
out free boxed lunches at
EatMoreTea,
their
sister
location at 211 E. Ann Street,
on Monday.
“We are amazed by the
outpouring of support for our
free boxed lunch initiative!”
Lisa McDonald, the owner
of TeaHaus, wrote. “What
went from me buying a few
extra loaves of bread and
sandwich makings for us to
put together and give to any
kid who was hungry, has
turned into an incredible
showing of the kindness in
our community.”
Symptoms of coronavirus
include fever, cough and
shortness of breath. To stop
the spread of the virus, the
Centers for Disease Control
recommend
people
wash
their hands often, avoid
touching their eyes, nose
and mouth and stay clear of
large group gatherings as
much as possible.
Daily News Editor Liat
Weinstein can be reached at
weinsl@umich.edu
LIAT WEINSTEIN
Daily News Editor
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JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily
Daily staff photographer Julia Schachinger found a nest of week-old Great Horned Owls in Island Park, near the U-M hospital, last Thursay afternoon.
Local businesses respond to
recent COVID-19 outbreak
Some establishments closed prior to executive order, help community
adjust to social distancing measures in order to protect public health