We Need Your Help!

As you know, one of the challenges for our industry is to explain what we do and how our chemical products are relevant to peoples’ lives. That is why we are putting together a Michigan chemistry product gift bag to help with outreach and education of key decision-makers in Lansing.

Over the past two weeks, the MCC (together with the ACC) has been working steadfastly to resolve an emerging issue regarding Michigan’s quarantine requirements for employees who have had close COVID contacts. Due to recent prevalence of COVID-19 in the general population, many companies report operational challenges because of employees quarantine due to potential exposure outside of work.

Exacerbating this situation is a new state law - effective in recent weeks - that codified an executive order specifying return-to-work requirements. The law now requires a full 14-day quarantine period for COVID close contacts, with no testing provision and few exceptions for critical workers. Please note that the Michigan law conflicts with CDC guidance that allows critical workers with potential COVID exposure to continue to work as long as they remain asymptomatic.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has updated guidance on COVID-19 quarantine periods based on scientific findings released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday, Dec. 2.

The CDC presented findings describing options to reduce the required number of quarantine days for individuals with known exposure to a confirmed COVID-19 case. The existing 14-day recommendation was based on earlier data that estimated the COVID-19 incubation period. At the national level, estimates of the COVID-19 incubation period have been refined based on a review of case data for hundreds of thousands of cases.

On Friday November 20^th, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) announced new state emphasis programs for the enforcement of COVID-related rules and standards in the manufacturing and construction sectors.

According to a press release, the SEPs will be in effect through February 8, 2021. Michigan has seen a sharp increase in cases across the state and outbreaks in both the construction and manufacturing industry, including 28 new outbreaks reported on Nov. 12, and the tracking of 63 ongoing outbreaks in these industries.