EAST LANSING, Mich. — At a special meeting held today, March 20, the East Lansing City Council unanimously approved an extension of the declaration of a local state of emergency made by East Lansing Mayor Ruth Beier on Friday, March 13 in response to the ongoing novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Per state law, a declaration of a local state of emergency may not extend past seven days unless approved by the governing body of the municipality. Approval of the emergency declaration was the sole purpose of the meeting, with several of the Councilmembers appearing electronically due to the presence of COVID-19 in the community. Social distancing was encouraged for those members of the public who chose to attend, and community members were provided with the option of submitting their public comments to the City Council ahead of time via email in lieu of attending. An audio recording of the meeting is now available online.
At the meeting, Council approved a continuation of the local state of emergency to April 6, 2020 and any other extensions as determined appropriate by Mayor Beier to April 30, 2020.
City of East Lansing facilities will continue to be temporarily closed to the public, with a tentative re-opening date of Monday, April 6, pending further recommendations at the local, state and national level. The East Lansing Hannah Community Center will be closed an additional week, with a tentative re-opening on Monday, April 13. Administrative and emergency management staff will continue to actively monitor, plan for and communicate about the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming weeks. All essential services (police, fire, EMS, trash/recycling collection, water services, wastewater management) are being maintained, and the health and welfare of the community remains the City’s top priority.
Community members are encouraged to continue to help in preventing the spread of the disease by remaining six feet apart from others and taking additional steps to protect themselves. This is a rapidly changing situation. For additional information and the latest updates, community members are encouraged to visit https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus and https://www.cdc.gov/Coronavirus. Local updates from the City of East Lansing are available at https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/coronavirus.