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. 

