In
an
email
to
students
sent
Monday
night,
Simone
Himbeault Taylor, interim vice
president for student life, and
Robert Ernst, University Health
Service executive director, noted
that UHS will remain open in
addition to a modified version of
housing and dining, consisting
of boxed take-out meals served
during specific hours.
Jeff Donofrio, the director
of the Department of Labor and
Economic Opportunity, said in
a press release the closure of
businesses will impact workers
and the local economy but
reiterated that these measures
were put in place to protect the
public from infection.
“We understand that these
decisions
will
impact
the
way we do business, but the
decisions we make now will
allow us to get our economy
back on track sooner rather
than later,” Donofrio said. “We
are putting measures in place
to help protect the employers,
employees and individuals that
will be impacted.”
LSA junior Kimiko Varner
said
she
was
planning
on
checking out books from the
University libraries for an Asian
Studies research methods class
before she learned they closed
indefinitely. Now, Varner said
she may struggle to find the
resources necessary to finish
the project.
“A lot of the stuff I’m looking
at is not available online,”
Varner said. “So I was planning
on getting more so I had more
material ... I definitely was not
able to pick up everything I
wanted to, so I guess I’m going
to have to work with what I
have and what’s online.”
Symptoms of the coronavirus
include
fever,
cough
and
shortness of breath. People who
believe they have been exposed
to coronavirus should call their
health care providers or the
nearest hospital.
University
spokesman
Rick
Fitzgerald
said
while
dining halls will offer take-
out meals only during selected
hours, Maizie’s Kitchen in the
Michigan League will remain
open as a convenience store.
The cafes in the libraries and
in the University of Michigan
Museum of Art (UMMA) will
close.
Susan Pile, the director of
University Unions and Auxiliary
Services, said the businesses in
the Union were still open as of
Saturday afternoon. Subway and
Panda Express, the businesses
in the basement of the Union,
opened the first week of March.
These businesses are now take-
out-only because of Whitmer’s
order.
Himbeault Taylor and Ernst
echoed
earlier
calls
from
President Mark Schlissel to
return home as soon as possible
if circumstances allow, writing
that
several
community
members have tested positive
for COVID-19. Dozens more
are awaiting test results. These
quantities,
they
wrote,
are
increasing daily.
“For those of you who still
remain on campus, especially
in residence halls, you need
to return to your permanent
residence, if that is an option
for
you,”
Himbeault
Taylor
and
Ernst
wrote.
“New
developments and guidance in
the COVID-19 pandemic make
it clear that now is the time
to return home if you can. To
diminish ongoing transmission
of this dangerous infection, we
need to decrease the density of
people on our campus, in our
residence halls and in group
living
circumstances
off-
campus.”
Daily
News
Editor
Liat
Weinstein can be reached at
weinsl@umich.edu.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 — 3
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
RESTAURANTS,
From Page 1
LIBRARY
From Page 1
COVID-19
From Page 1
“We need to move quickly
to slow the spread of the virus
and protect public health,”
Khaldun said. “I realize these
actions will present temporary
changes to the way we live,
but they are critical to help
ensure our health care system
is prepared to treat those who
need the most urgent medical
care.”
Whitmer is not the first
governor to take this step. On
Sunday, the governors of Ohio
and Illinois both ordered all
bars and restaurants in their
states to close. Others across
the
country
have
followed
suit. This comes after people
continued to go out to bars and
parties over the weekend in
celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
The governor first announced
her intent to issue the temporary
ban during an interview with
northern Michigan’s 9&10 News
early Monday morning, building
on previous efforts across the
state to restrict large gatherings.
On Friday, Whitmer banned all
assemblages with more than 250
people. On Thursday, the city of
Ann Arbor called off all events
expecting 50 or more attendees.
Local businesses have felt a
strain on sales from the outbreak.
Over the weekend, RoosRoast
Coffee on East Liberty Street
posted a sign on the door of the
shop informing customers that
seating would not long be offered
and all orders would be served
to go. Other stores have also
suffered.
The
owners
of
Literati
Bookstore opted to close Ann
Arbor’s well-known independent
bookseller indefinitely amid the
coronavirus outbreak.
In an email to customers on
Friday, owners Mike and Hilary
Gustafson said the decision was
difficult.
“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 store will still accept
online orders with $1 shipping.
When
University
President
Mark
Schlissel
announced
on
Friday
that
Spring
Commencement
was
being
canceled, he noted that doing so
was necessary to keep students
and their families safe.
“Commencement is a special
time for our @UMich graduates
and their families,” Schlissel
wrote on Twitter. “We also want
it to be safe. The Class of 2020
deserves to be celebrated, and
we will work with grads to find
a new date for a commencement
ceremony.”
Other
officials
have
asked
people
to
practice
social
distancing and avoid large events.
In a previous interview with The
Daily, University Regent Jordan
Acker (D) urged students to
refrain from going out to bars in
Ann Arbor.
“As someone who not that long
ago would’ve longed to spend St.
Patrick’s Day at Skeeps or Rick’s,
I know that’s what students want
to do right now,” Acker said. “But
the reality is, even if students
themselves may not get really
sick, some will, and even more
could be carriers of this disease
… and pass it along to people who
are immunocompromised, their
parents, their grandparents. So
even if they don’t feel the effects,
gathering in these spaces, we’ve
seen is one of the biggest ways
this disease is spread.”
On
Sunday
night,
the
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and Prevention called for the
cancellation of events with more
than 50 people for the next eight
weeks.
Currently, there is no vaccine
for
COVID-19:
The
primary
method to prevent it is to avoid
being exposed to it. The CDC also
recommends people wash their
hands frequently, cover their
coughs and sneezes and disinfect
commonly used surfaces often.
Symptoms include fever, cough
and shortness of breath. People
who believe they have been
exposed to COVID-19 should call
their health care providers or the
nearest hospital.
Managing News Editor Leah
Graham
can
be
reached
at
leahgra@umich.edu
Taylor
said
he
strongly
encourages all city services to
be conducted online.
“I
understand
that
these
measures will impact the way
the city delivers these services,
but this action is necessary to
protect our employees and those
we serve in our communities,
especially
those
that
are
particularly vulnerable to this
virus,” Taylor said.
The announcement followed
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer’s
executive order signed earlier
in the day. The order urged all
Michigan restaurants, bars and
entertainment venues to close
doors to the general public by
3 p.m. However, delivery and
takeout options are still viable.
Prior to the signing of the
executive order, some students
disregarded Centers for Disease
Control warnings of practicing
social distancing. Taylor said he
hopes the executive order will
be taken seriously.
“I am urging everyone to
heed this executive order and
follow CDC social distancing
recommendations,” Taylor said.
“This is not a snow day, and
school is not out for summer.
Everyone, the young, the old and
everyone in between … should
take
religious
preventative
measures
…
Your
diligent
actions (will) save lives.”
At the start of the council
meeting,
Interim
City
Administrator Tom Crawford
said in light City Hall closing,
he will be moving all council
directives given to him back
60 days. Crawford also noted
developing
the
city
budget
will be more difficult with the
unpredictability of the virus.
“This is a very unclear time,
very volatile time, so it’s not
clear whether the events we’re
going to are going to have a
short-term, a year, or a long-term
impact,” Crawford said. “That
volatility makes developing a
budget challenging.”
Councilmember Jane Lumm,
I-Ward 2, raised concerns about
the
council
planning
large
events. She said she noticed
events being frequently canceled
amidst the virus concerns.
In regards to a resolution to
approve street closings for the
50th Anniversary of Earth Day,
Lumm said the council must
exert caution when planning the
event.
“April 22 is not that far off,”
Lumm said. “I don’t think the
city should be sponsoring or
planning any group gatherings
at this point. I recognize that
the 50th anniversary of Earth
Day is a significant occasion, but
I am concerned that we could
be spending time and money
planning an event when there’s
a good chance we may need to
cancel it.”
Crawford
recognized
the
concerns; however, he viewed
planning the 50th anniversary
celebration in a positive light
during the COVID-19 concerns.
“One of the benefits that we
thought of continuing with the
planning at this stage is that,
when things do open back up,
having a celebration downtown
would
be
beneficial
(for
morale),” Crawford said.
The council approved the
resolution to close streets for
the Earth Day anniversary.
The
council’s
discussion
shifted to the Center of the City
Task Force as Committee Chair
Meghan Musolff and Vice Chair
Miles Klapthor presented their
final report. The task force
was created in 2018 to develop
recommendations
regarding
city-owned land bounded by
Fifth
Avenue
and
William,
Division and Liberty Streets.
Musolff
highlighted
the
vision the task force had for the
space. According to the report,
they hoped to create an area
that was inclusive, safe, easy to
navigate and sustainable.
To achieve the vision, Musolff
said the task force placed a
strong emphasis on community
engagement and input. They set
up Ideapods at the Ann Arbor
District Library parking lot and
in Liberty Plaza to gather ideas.
They also sent targeted mail and
hosted open houses.
“One of the things that (was)
really important to the group …
was we want to make sure we
invited the entire community
into
the
process,
making
sure that we heard diverse
perspectives,” Musolff said.
The
report
outlines
six
recommendations for the public
spaces to be developed into a
central park and civic center
commons.
Klapthor
noted
these
recommendations
were
not
concrete plans of actions, but
more of a push towards the right
direction.
“In our report, we don’t
have any designs or anything
of that nature,” Klapthor said.
“Instead, this is a step forward
in a process that is going to be
longer, but is also going to be
very much community-focused
and community-driven.”
Musolff closed the report
by
providing
additional
considerations outside of the
initial scope of the taskforce.
The
report
highlights
the
need for affordable housing
and
importance
of
diverse
perspectives.
“The Task Force recognizes
the urgent need for additional
affordable
housing
in
our
community, but at this time,
because of the wording of the
Charter Amendment, creating
housing on the Center of the
City block is not an option,” the
report said. “The Task Force
strongly
encourages
City
Council to continue to work to
address the affordable housing
shortage.”
Reporter Francesca Duong
can be reached at fduong@
umich.edu.