Did Michigan health orders slow COVID? Probably. But how much is debatable. - Bridge Michigan

Don Grimes, an economist and senior research specialist at the University of Michigan, said states with tougher restrictions typically have higher jobless rates than those that have fewer restrictions.

“There is definitely a tradeoff between restricting activity and the labor market situation,” Grimes wrote in an email. “The question for policy makers is whether or not it's worth it, because of the lives and illnesses saved.”

Earlier this year, Congress added $600 per week to jobless benefits, while a new stimulus plan approved Monday will include another $300 per week for the unemployed.

In Michigan, a $465 million COVID-19 relief package approved this week provides assistance for those whose industries, like restaurants, have been hardest hit by the restrictions. It would include a payment of $1,650 to workers laid off because of state health restrictions.

But Grimes said the impact of restrictions has hit restaurants the hardest, which impacts the state’s jobless rate more than its tax coffers.

Because of the typical lower wages of the industry, restaurants account for about 8 percent of state jobs but less than 3 percent of total wages, he said.

Mask mandates

Most states have mask mandates on indoor activity, with 36 adopting them, including Michigan and all Great Lakes states, and eight not doing so. 

For about a month, the Dakotas — both sparsely populated, largely rural states — have had some of the highest case rates of the pandemic. North Dakota has a mask mandate, but South Dakota does not. Neither ban indoor dining and both states are still far higher rates of new infections than Michigan or almost all Great Lakes states — but in both Dakotas those rates are falling rapidly.

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Did Michigan health orders slow COVID? Probably. But how much is debatable. - Bridge Michigan
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