DETROIT – Michigan entered an important week in the fight against COVID-19.
On Thursday, an FDA panel is expected to grant emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine.
Lawmakers in Washington claim they may have a compromise on a COVID Relief Bill that would extend unemployment benefits and help small businesses. Details are expected to be released Monday.
Michigan’s “three-week pause” in that bans indoor dining at bars and restaurants, in-person learning at high schools and colleges ends Tuesday at 11:59 p.m., but it’s still unclear if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will extend it.
Everyone is on the edge of their seats, waiting to see if the governors restrictions will longer than the time said originally, especially the people who work in the restaurant industry.
For single mothers and servers at Andiamo restaurant, Kelly and Melissa, preparing for the holidays have been rougher than usual.
“We’re all just struggling. Our hours got cut. Our shifts got cut,” said Kelly Barton.
“It’s gonna be rough because you don’t even know do I have to choose between paying my rent or do I buy my child a Christmas gift. It’s very scary,” said Melissa.
Since the latest set of restrictions were put into place by the Governor, making ends meet isn’t as easy as it was when restaurants were open for in-person dining.
“This is usually the time of year where we make the most of our money. So it’s been very difficult,” said Melissa.
Although the carry out tip jar has some money inside, it’s not even close to the amount these workers would have made if customers were inside.
“It’s not even comparable. Cause we have to split it between everyone that’s working here,” Barton added.
Sunday morning Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist said on Local 4′s Flashpoint that the state will use science of numbers to determine whether or not restrictions will be set at ease.
“These are practices that are gonna help us slow the spread of the virus. They’ll get us to thresholds where we can look at which activities have a different level of risk,” said Lt. Governor, Gilchrist.
However, everything is still up in the air until an announcement is made.
“We’re hoping that we can reopen but do It safely like we’ve been doing it. We’ve been very very diligent about temperature checks and only having a certain amount of people. It’s all we want. Just let us open back up and let the people who want to come out, come back,” Melissa concluded.
- View more: Michigan COVID-19 data