pandemic

While 2020 came with record levels of unemployment and businesses closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, local economists are predicting that West Michigan’s economy will rebound with strong growth in 2021. It’s dependent on the federal government injecting $3 trillion into the economy and the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will announce Wednesday that Michigan restaurants can reopen for indoor dining on Feb. 1, two-and-a-half months after an order to close amid a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

The governor’s office confirmed the pending announcement following a statement issued on social media by the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association. The current order prohibiting indoor dine-in service is due to expire Friday but will be extended.

The Consumers Energy Foundation has announced more than $480,000 in grants to help Michigan nonprofits provide critical help to communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

Since March, the Jackson-based foundation that is the charitable arm of Consumers Energy has provided $5.4 million in direct response to the pandemic.

Grants support those working on the front lines to directly meet basic needs such as food and shelter.

The Food Bank Council of Michigan received $200,000 in funding to address food insecurity, including mobile food distributions across the state.

An Upper Peninsula cafe was found in contempt of court and fined $2,500 for continuing to serve indoor diners, the latest turn in an effort to get the owner to comply with coronavirus restrictions.

“When it comes to court orders, in my opinion, civil disobedience is not an option. It just absolutely is not,” Judge Wanda Stokes said.

Stokes held a hearing Friday involving Cafe Rosetta, which serves soup, sandwiches and more in Calumet, a town of roughly 750 in Houghton County.

A judge has ordered the shutdown of a cafe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where customers have been supporting an owner who has defiantly served indoor diners despite coronavirus restrictions.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration got a restraining order against Cafe Rosetta in Calumet, a small town in Houghton County.

Since November, bars and restaurants in Michigan have been limited to carry-out service or outdoor dining in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Michigan’s rate of new COVID-19 cases has been dropping for more than 29 days, a state scientist reported Wednesday.

“It will be important during this holiday season, as well, and New Year’s Eve, to ensure we’re maintaining that social distancing. That will be very important,” said Sarah Lyon-Callo, head of the epidemiology bureau.

“We’re going to be watching these data throughout the holiday season to determine if we’re going to see any sort of case resurgence,” Lyon-Callo said.

Michigan spent $135.3 million on masks, gloves and other gear during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, when officials were racing against time — and other states — to protect medical personnel and other essential workers, an Associated Press analysis found.

The nationwide analysis found that states paid more than $7 billion for personal protective equipment and crucial medical devices such as ventilators and infrared thermometers between early 2020, when COVID-19 first emerged in the U.S., and late spring.