LANSING – A federal judge has ordered that gyms can open in Michigan on June 25, despite an order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that they remain closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Whitmer will appeal the preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney, a spokeswoman said.
Maloney, a federal judge in Kalamazoo, issued the order in a lawsuit brought by the League of Independent Fitness Facilities and Trainers, Inc. and other plaintiffs who objected to emergency orders that gyms remain closed.
The judge said the state had not shown sufficient evidence to back up the assertion that a gym would be a "petri dish" for COVID-19 infection, if open.
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The state "answered with a blanket 'trust us' statement that is insufficient," Maloney wrote in his opinion.
The gyms will have to follow safety procedures set out by the state, the judge said.
Tiffany Brown, a spokeswoman for Whitmer, said the governor "respectfully, but strongly, disagrees with the decision" and will appeal immediately to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
"With this ruling, the court is playing a dangerous role it should not play: second-guessing and upending the data-informed decisions that have saved thousands of lives in Michigan," Brown said.
“The idea that gyms — with their high levels of heavy respiratory activity, shared indoor spaces and shared surfaces — might be one of the later businesses to come back online in the midst of this global pandemic is hardly surprising and highly sensible.”
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.
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June 20, 2020 at 06:01AM
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Federal judge says Michigan gyms can open June 25; state to appeal - Detroit Free Press
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