Update, 4:47 p.m., July 31: The Governor’s press secretary says all water parks “must remain shut for the time being.”
Update, 3:10 p.m., July 31: Amid confusion over compliance with the state order, Muskegon County health officials say they are seeking clarification from the state about whether WildWater Adventure water park may remain open. The business says it will remain open.
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI — Barely two weeks after partially reopening to the public, following an extended shutdown against the coronavirus pandemic, the state’s largest amusement park will be forced to once again close its gates following a new executive order limiting outdoor and recreational activity.
Michigan’s Adventure, at 4750 Whitehall Road, north of Muskegon, reopened its WildWater Adventure water park — but not the rest of its grounds — to the general public on Friday, July 17, months later than the typical Memorial Day weekend opener.
But in an executive order issued Wednesday, July 29, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for the closure of, among other spaces, “outdoor services or facilities involving close contact of persons, for amusement or other recreational or entertainment purposes, such as amusement parks ... water parks, and other similar recreational or entertainment facilities.”
Under these orders, “Michigan’s Adventure will have to shut down,” Kathy Moore, Muskegon County’s director of Public Health, told MLive.
RELATED: Whitmer order tightens restrictions on northern Michigan parties, bars
Laure Bollenbach, a spokesperson for the theme park, did not respond to requests for comment early Friday.
Moore told MLive on Friday that the county would check in with the business to see if they will keep any portion of their operations open. If so, the county will review the park’s safety plan, Moore said.
She added that the county and park have maintained close communication throughout its reopening, and that the park has been “cooperative and proactive and extremely cautious” when employees or others presented potential symptoms.
“They were doing everything right,” she said.
Michigan’s Adventure is a 250-acre amusement park north of Muskegon. In reopening its water park, the park had established new safety protocols, such as filling out an online health questionnaire beforehand, receiving temperature checks at the entrance, and maintaining social distancing throughout the park.
The park is owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment, which also owns Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio; Kings Island in Mason, Ohio; and Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.
The latest order out of Lansing, which also limits indoor social gatherings and bar service in northern Michigan, comes as cases of COVID-19 have begun creeping up once again across the Midwest, following significant spikes in southern states.
The case rate in Michigan on Thursday, a day after Whitmer updated the “Safe Start Order,” a phased-in return to reopening businesses and other aspects of public life, was its highest since early May, at 715 new cases, up from an average of more than 600 per day throughout the last several weeks.
A confirmed 6,191 Michiganders have died of COVID-19, with about 250 deaths in the state deemed likely connected to the virus.
Read more on MLive:
Michigan father learning to walk, talk, eat again after Covid-19: ‘Just happy to be alive’
Casinos can reopen, Up North gets more restrictions: A reminder of what’s allowed in Michigan
Michigan’s county-level coronavirus data for Friday, July 31; Macomb, Saginaw among hot spots
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Michigan’s Adventure to close its water park once again, following state order - MLive.com
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