Michigan adjusts to post COVID-19 life! Can it return to what we knew?

As of Tuesday, June 22, all indoor and outdoor capacity settings are back to 100 percent. Michiganders are no longer being required to wear masks, regardless if their vaccination status is complete.

It’s all great news, especially for those restaurants and bars; but the hospitality industry still has several challenges ahead as it tries to rebound. One of the biggest tests will be finding people to wait tables or tend bars. Many pre-pandemic employees either went on unemployment or found other work. The state’s unemployment rates still continue to hover around the 5% mark, with over 23% of that total coming from the hospitality industry.

“Patience” says one restaurant owner, as they attempt to rebuild their staff, while many establishments are remaining closed on slow nights or staying with a takeout only model for the time being.

Fast food drive-thru lines continue to grow in length as the majority of national concerns have chosen not to reopen dining rooms at this time due to a lack of staffing.

Some restrictions remain

Health facilities as a whole are still requiring the use of masks and limiting visitors to a “patients-only” policy in most adult cases.

Canadian border restrictions on nonessential travel with the United States will be extended until July 21, officials said Wednesday, as Canada works diligently to improve upon the 20% of Canadians are fully vaccinated at this time.

The Delta variant

With vaccination rates slowing in the United States, and many countries struggling to secure vaccines, health experts have growing concerns that the new Delta coronavirus variant, first identified in India in March, could trigger dramatic rises in new cases.

Per a story out of Reuters this week, infectious disease experts are weighing in on the need for booster shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for Americans who received Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine due to the increasing prevalence of the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant.

The Delta variant already accounts for half of all current cases in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, and about six percent of cases nationwide. It has already spread to more than 70 countries and is now the most dominant variant in India, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Delta has been identified in Southwest Michigan in the last week.

Supply chain woes

The ripple-effect on the nations supply chain continues to plague retailers and consumers as production and labor issues abound across many industries.

Some Tri-City Area hardware store owners report they won’t receive their annual shipment of lawnmowers until October, but will accept the order for fear of not getting them in spring of 2022. A manager at Gordon’s Food Service shared issues with their GFS branded peanut butter. They have the product and the jars, but not the lids due to problems with the supplier.

Consumers have seen meat and grocery prices increase along with spotty outages or delays in everyday products. “It’s all a delicate balance,” say industry experts. Many predict supply “normalizing” will take well into 2022 before the cycle stabilizes.

With testing and vaccinations readily available, it’s safe to say the COVID-19 risk now comes down to a personal level of choice. Guidance on COVID-19 related services is available through local health departments.