About 5,600 of Michigan restaurant operators will have closed their doors for good within six months of current COVID-19 restrictions, based on responses to a recent member survey conducted by the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association.

The survey, released on Dec. 7, also found about 66% of Michigan’s 850 hotels believe they can hang on for another six more months at current revenue and occupancy levels. Nearly half of Michigan restaurant operators (48%) are considering temporarily closing their business until the COVID-19 epidemic and restrictions are over.

When the daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases have spiked, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has criticized Michigan residents for not following state health department and executive orders. But when case numbers are falling, the governor has asserted that lockdowns and restrictions imposed by her administration were effective. In both cases, Whitmer has either blamed residents or praised her own actions, without offering evidence or data to back it up.

The Thanksgiving holiday was an example of how Whitmer’s earlier act of blaming was transmuted into praise. The state health department had issued an order to limit family gatherings to no more than 10 people from two households.

Whitmer Dec. 1: “We all know the next two months are going to be hard. Too many people traveled for Thanksgiving, and we will see our numbers increase very likely because of it.”

Whitmer on Dec. 15: “What we’re doing is working. It shows that a lot of Michiganders did the right thing over Thanksgiving.”