Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday extended her stay-at-home order to combat the spread of the coronavirus to April 30, emphasizing that the deadly threat of the virus to public health has not subsided enough to resume normal activity in the home state of the U.S. auto industry.
The governor’s executive order “prohibits all businesses and operations from requiring workers to leave their homes, unless those workers are necessary to sustain or protect life or to conduct minimum basic operations.”
A lifting of the the order on April 30 could pave the way for auto production to resume in the state on May 4 – Fiat Chrysler’s target date for the reopening of some plants.
On the retail front, the extension included a key change: Employees engaged in online vehicle sales and deliveries have been added to the list of “critical infrastructure workers”:
“Workers at motor vehicle dealerships who are necessary to facilitate remote and electronic sales or leases, or to deliver motor…
