GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The former chairperson of the conservative West Michigan Policy Forum wants state officials to implement a plan that provides businesses an opportunity to reopen if they can do so safely.
“If there’s a business that can operate safely, then we think we should be moving in that direction,” said Doug DeVos, who sits on the policy forum’s board and serves as co-chairmen of Amway’s board of directors. “We want to keep that balance between safe living and earning a paycheck.”
DeVos moderated a discussion Monday, April 27, with leaders in West Michigan’s business and healthcare sectors. The virtual event was hosted by the West Michigan Policy Forum, and focused on the response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order. The order is designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Business executives, who have kept their doors open during the pandemic, said they’re emphasizing social distancing and have placed plexiglass guards between workstations to keep employees safe. Hospital CEOs, meanwhile, discussed the importance of testing more people for coronavirus, and stressed that their facilities are open to people suffering from non-COVID-19 medical emergencies.
“We’re reopening now, and I believe that other businesses can as well and do it safely, if we follow recommendations,” said Kent Riddle, the CEO of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. Mary Free Bed has closed about 30 percent of its services during the pandemic, he said.
DeVos said any plan to reopen the state’s economy should be broad and include flexibility based on factors such as industry and geographic location. He said Republicans in the state Senate have put forth a “good plan.”
That plan calls for a five-phase process based on trends in the number of cases as well as hospital capacity, and allows businesses with a low risk of spreading the disease to resume operations.
DeVos said the public should be confident that businesses can operate safely if they do so “in the right conditions” and follow the proper safety protocols. The businesses that fit such criteria will differ based upon industry, working conditions and geography, he said.
One example, DeVos said, could include the construction industry, if employees are working outdoors and can meet social distancing guidelines.
Whitmer issued Michigan’s stay-at-home order on March 23. It directed residents to stay home unless they’re engage in essential activities such as exercising outside or getting food or medicine. Most businesses were ordered to close. However, exemptions were put in place for businesses such as gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and take-out food establishment.
The latest version of Whitmer’s stay-at-home order has been extended to May 15. It lifts previous restrictions on motorized boating, golf and retail operations such as gardening centers. Landscaping, lawn-service companies, nurseries and bike repair shops are now allowed to return to work subject to strict social distancing.
On Monday afternoon, Whitmer said residential and commercial construction may soon be able to resume in Michigan, along with additional outdoor industries.
During the West Michigan Policy Forum’s virtual meeting, John Kennedy, the President and CEO of Autocam Medical, discussed how his business is operating amid the pandemic.
Kennedy, who chairs the West Michigan Policy Forum, said his business has implemented a symptom survey and temperature check for employees. Employees are also given a surgical mask every day, workspace cleaning has been increased, and those who exhibit any symptoms are not permitted to work.
“It’s not uncommon for people to come to work with a cold,” Kennedy said. “That just is not acceptable. Because the cold could be COVID, and then you’re going to spread it to the rest of the plant.”
Autocam makes components and other products for medical device manufacturers. The company has 500 employees in its three plants, and has had one employee who tested positive for coronavirus COVID-19, Kennedy said.
“We now feel that our workforce is safer certainly than any attempt to go pick up essentials at the grocery store,” he said.
Michigan had 38,210 confirmed coronavirus infections and 3,407 deaths as of Monday, April 27, according to the latest state date. Seventy-three percent of the confirmed infections are in Michigan’s three most populous counties — Wayne, Oakland and Macomb.
Ron Janish, executive vice president of global operations and supply chain at Perrigo, said his company has sought to maximize social distancing by staggering starting shifts and reconfiguring break rooms. Plexiglass shields have been installed between employees who, due to their jobs, cannot social distance from one another.
While 12 to 15 percent of the Perrigo’s West Michigan workforce are absent on any particular day, the company has had just one confirmed case of coronavirus COVID-19 at its facility in Allegan, Janish said. Perrigo manufactures generic, over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs.
“We learn something new all the time,” he said. “We enhance and increase the robustness of our screening process. Our screening process, first and foremost, is most critical for our teams.”
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