Remember last fall when we were worried about mosquitos in West Michigan because of EEE or Eastern Equine Encephalitis?  Yeah, it was pretty major, we were canceling outdoor events because of it.

Well, now according to WOODTV, one lawmaker in Lansing is taking a stand and asking for some exceptions to be made in what's considered an "essential" business, because we need landscapers and gardening businesses open, so we can also battle the mosquitos and EEE.

The lawmaker that has proposed the loosened restrictions is Sen. Kim LaSata who represents most of southwest Michigan, in Michigan District 2, which also was hit hard with the EEE virus when it hit West Michigan. WOODTV reports 10 cases of EEE in Michigan happened in Southwest Michigan with 6 people dying.

LaSata asked the governor to loosen the restriction on the stay-at-home order in a letter in which she cited the recommendations of CDC for keeping EEE at bay, which from WOODTV include,

 keeping grass cut short, shrubbery trimmed and other maintenance covered by landscape services.

She also said in her letter,

“While your initial ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ Order was put in place to protect the health and safety of all citizens, I believe you have done so at the expense of protecting our population from other health hazards.”

Now, time will tell if anything changes on the order, allowing landscapers to return to work. Until then, if you want to take preventative measures to protect yourself and your family from EEE, here's some info from Berrien County Health Department.

 

 

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