Oakland County, Michigan Issues Emergency Order 2020-10 Requiring Screening and Social Interaction Measures at Open Businesses and Operations

Oakland County, Michigan recently issued [Emergency Order 2020-10] (“Emergency Order”) to address how open operations and businesses operating within Oakland County should screen employees and address interactions with the public.  The Emergency Order is effective as of Friday, May 8, 2020, and was issued to further align with the recent executive order issued by Governor Whitmer pursuant to [Executive Order 2020-77] (“Executive Order”). The Executive Order is currently set to expire May 28, 2020 and the Emergency Order will stay in place until rescinded by the Oakland County Health Division.

Businesses and operations in Oakland County that are allowed to remain open under the Executive Order must now take a number of precautions, described below. The details of the additional requirements imposed upon businesses under the Executive Order can be found here.

The key precautions open businesses and operations must take under the Emergency Order are as follows:

• Develop and implement a daily screening program for all staff.
• For any essential services providing goods and services, where employees have (a) face-to-face interaction with the public or (b) close contact with goods that the public purchases, shall have all employees wear facial coverings.
• Recommend the general public follow CDC guidance for facial covers in public settings.
• Publish Emergency Order 2020-10 at the entrance of the facility and to members of the public at large by all reasonable means available.

Oakland County’s Emergency Order does not change or alter any social distancing requirements imposed by any other Emergency Order, including the Executive Order. Businesses and operations should adhere to the directives set forth in both the Executive Order and Emergency Order. Businesses should assess their current operations and safety protocols to align them with the requirements set forth in both the Emergency Order and Executive Order.

Health care organizations with an infection control program in place are exempt from this Emergency Order.

Daily Screening Program for All Staff

The daily screening criteria must include the following questions:

1. Do you have any of the following symptoms?

1. Fever of 100.4 degrees or higher (as measured by a touchless thermometer if available, but a verbal confirmation of lack of fever is sufficient if a touchless thermometer is not available); or
2. Cough (excluding chronic cough due to a known medical reason other than COVID-19); or
3. Shortness of breath; or
4. At least 2 of the following symptoms:  chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell and/or diarrhea (excluding diarrhea due to known medical reason), and extreme fatigue.

2. Have you travelled internationally or outside of Michigan in the last 14 days, excluding commuting from a home location outside of Michigan? For purposes of this order, commuting is defined as traveling between one’s home and work on a regular basis.
3. Have you had any close contact in the last 14 days with someone with a diagnosis of COVID-19?

Any person providing a “yes” to Part 1 of the above screening questions must be excluded for the following time periods:

• At least 72 hours with no fever (that is three full days of no fever without use of medicine that reduces fevers) AND other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough and shortness of breath have improved) AND other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough and shortness of breath have improved) AND at least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared.

Any person providing a “yes” to Part 2 of the above screening questions must be excluded for the following time periods:

• 14 days following travel unless that travel was due to commuting from a home location outside of Michigan.
• Exceptions include necessary workers engaged in travel related to supply chain and critical infrastructure.

Any person providing a “yes” to Part 3 of the above screening questions must be excluded for the following time periods:

• 14 days after the last exposure to the person with COVID-19, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Exemptions include health care institutions, public health functions, pharmacies and other entities that are involved in the mitigation of risk during this pandemic.

Facial Coverings for Essential Services

The essential services providing goods and services where employees have (a) face-to-face-interaction with the public or (b) close contact with goods that the public purchases include, but are not limited to, grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, and locations where social distancing measures are not possible.  All such essential services must wear facial coverings.  Operations and businesses identified in this section are encouraged to implement immediately, and shall comply immediately.

The Emergency Order refers to the CDC’s guidance on facial coverings, and provides the following:

• A facial cover includes any covering which snugly covers the face and mouth, whether store bought or homemade, and which is secured with ties or ear loops.
• Persons should not utilize N95 rated masks or surgical masks, as those are critical supplies for health care workers, police, fire, emergency management, or other persons engaged in life-saving activities.
• Persons who wear facial coverings should review the CDC guidelines regarding safely applying, removing, and cleaning facial coverings.

General Public Recommendations for Facial Covers

Open businesses and operations must recommend that the general public follow the CDC’s guidance for facial covers in public settings.

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