State of Michigan Cites Large COVID Rise To Cancel Extended Family Thanksgiving Gatherings

Home gatherings in Michigan will be limited to individuals from just two households and not more than 10 people, according to a new emergency order issued Sunday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Department of Health & Human Services. The order takes effect on Wednesday. The order is in effect for three weeks.

This means the traditional Thanksgiving gathering of extended families from more than two households will be prohibited this year and violations would be a misdemeanor crime.

Violations of the new order are punishable by a civil fine of up to $1,000 for each occurrence or each day that a violation continues, according to the state of Michigan press release. The press release states a violation of this order is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, or a fine of not more than $200.00, or both.

Michigan had 9,179 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 on Nov. 13 and had 7,430 new cases on Nov. 14, according to worldometers.info. Those numbers dwarf the number of new cases back in April. The highest amount of new coronavirus cases that month was 2,118 on April 3.