EAST LANSING, Mich. — In light of the recent deployment of electric scooters in East Lansing, City of East Lansing officials are urging riders who choose to use them to take necessary precautions to help protect themselves and others from the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
It should be noted that City officials did seek a determination from the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office regarding electric scooters and whether their deployment would be in violation of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order. According to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, scooter employees fall under the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) March 28, 2020 advisory on critical infrastructure employees: https://www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforce. It should also be noted that the company’s license with the City of East Lansing was issued last year prior to the COVID-19 crisis and it does not expire until June 2020.
If community members choose to use the scooters deployed in the community, they should only be used for travel that is in compliance with the governor’s executive orders and riders are strongly urged to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes before and after a ride.
Community members are also reminded that they should stay home if they are feeling sick and should remain at least six feet from others and consider wearing a cloth face covering when out in public.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are still learning about how COVID-19 spreads, they have stated that it may be possible for an individual to get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly eyes. For additional, important information on how COVID-19 is spread and how to help protect yourself and others, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html.