A restaurant in the city of Plymouth was found by state administrators to have violated COVID-19 restrictions, despite a county inspector’s report stating the establishment had no violations.

The issue at the Plymouth ROC Restaurant was the fact it served people in an outside tent with four walls. The finding of a violation came during a hearing in December brought by the state Liquor Control Commission. The hearing was held before, in the words of one official document, a “duly authorized agent of the Commission,” Administrative Law Judge Michael J. St. John, an employee of the Department of Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, of which the commission is a part.

When the current round of statewide lockdowns was ordered on Nov. 15, there was confusion of just what constituted “outdoors” for many restaurants attempting to provide food service in outdoor tents.

The state clarified the initial order 23 days later with a specific definition of “outdoors,” which was included in a Frequently Asked Question section of a state website on Dec. 7.

The FAQ stated: ““Indoors’ means within a space that is fully or partially enclosed on the top, and fully or partially enclosed on two or more contiguous sides. Additionally, in a space that is fully or partially enclosed on the top, and fully or partially enclosed on two non-contiguous sides, any part of that space that is more than 8 feet from an open side is indoors.”

But the administrative law judge did not accept an argument that the definition was buried in an FAQ add-on to the order already in effect. He wrote, “One of the most well established maxims in law is that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Although the November 15, 2020 Emergency Order did not define indoor dining, the FAQ section noted exactly what was required.”

The timeline that led to the administrative law case started on Dec. 3 ,when a Plymouth Police Department officer warned the restaurant it was in violation.

A Wayne County Health Department inspector performed an inspection on Dec. 11 and found no issues. The restaurant was told it was in compliance.

The city says, however, that it received complaints and performed additional inspections.

John Buzuvis, the director of community development for the city of Plymouth, observed the beer tent on Dec. 15 and Dec. 17. Buzuvis took photos of the beer tent at the instruction of Allen Cox, the police chief for the city of Plymouth.

In a series of pointed tweets aimed at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti challenged the science behind the state’s ongoing lockdown of winter sports at Michigan schools.

Vitti specifically questioned how the lockdown can be justified, even as bars and restaurants are permitted to reopen for dine-in service on Feb. 1. The sports lockdown applies to girls and boys basketball, ice hockey, competitive cheerleading and wrestling, which all remain closed for “contact activities" until Feb. 21.

Included in Vitti’s tweets was the 328-word text of an explanation sent by the state Department of Health and Human Services to the news site MLive (posted below).

Vitti tweeted: “Student-athletes deserve better than this. This is govt babble. Saying something without saying anything. The data used here is misleading by not just focusing on high school athletics which showed limited outbreaks.”

The superintendent of the state’s largest school district continued: “Your data number for high school sports was too low so you had to include college and pros. Come on? If teenage outbreaks are a concern to the greater society why can schools be open now?”

Vitti’s tweets also challenged state officials discussing, in this context, reports of a COVID-19 variant in Michigan. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated, “Currently, there is no evidence that these variants cause more severe illness or increased risk of death.”

Vitti’s take was this: “The variant. Why are we focusing on winter sports as the health concern linked to the variant? If you are that worried about the variant we are restaurants and bars opening? We aren’t bingo halls or churches closed in Washtenaw to protect the most vulnerable citizens?”

Meanwhile, high school athletes in Michigan are posting on Twitter under the hashtag #letusplay, with their stories about why they want to be allowed to compete.

Here is 328-word rationale, published on MLive, that state officials gave for keeping winter sports at Michigan high schools closed:

“We are pleased to continue incrementally reopening the economy with the recent MDHHS order. Counties around the country have faced outbreaks of COVID-19 associated with sports teams. In Michigan, there were 42 outbreaks associated with athletics (K-12 schools, professional, collegiate, and commercial venues) in August and September of 2020 before restrictions on contact sports were implemented, and MDHHS and local health departments are still identifying outbreaks on teams that are currently playing. Outbreaks of this magnitude have the potential to affect not just a sports team, but the community in which the players and coaches reside as well.”

“Sports that require frequent closeness between players make it more difficult to prevent disease transmission, compared to sports where players are not as close to each other. The risk of COVID-19 transmission is increased by the number of individuals a player physically interacts with, as well as the intensity and duration of that interaction. The arrival of the new B.1.1.1.7 variant also means even more caution must be taken so we avoid the rapid rise in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths that other countries that have seen this variant have experienced.”

“Even with mitigation measures in place, such as wearing of masks, disease transmission cannot be completely prevented when players are in prolonged or intense contact. Contact sports include the following: football, basketball, rugby, field hockey, soccer, lacrosse, wrestling, hockey, boxing, futsal and martial arts with opponents. These risks are even greater for indoor contact sports where there is not natural ventilation to mitigate the close proximity of participants.”

“Teams that can implement robust public health measures may be able to decrease risk, but risk remains elevated. We will continue to carefully watch the data to assess what other activities can be permitted. We are also laser focused on achieving our goal of vaccinating at least 70% of Michiganders age 16 and up as quickly as possible so we can end this pandemic and get back to a sense of normalcy.”