Michiganians gave a sigh of relief Friday when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told them the good news that fully vaccinated residents could opt out of wearing their masks. This follows the science that vaccines are getting us back to normal.

But don’t celebrate too much. And don’t throw out your mask.

Whitmer didn’t have much choice but to loosen the state’s grip on citizens after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Thursday said those who have received the complete dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can congregate indoors or outdoors without masks.

The governor is also considering loosening other Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID orders by the end of the week, which could mean she’s moving up the timeline of her “Vacc to Normal” reopening metrics.

That’s great. Yet while Whitmer is signaling Michigan is moving on from a year of heavy-handed restrictions, state bureaucrats in her administration’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity haven’t gotten the memo.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responsible for crafting the emergency rules still governing workplaces. Those rules got extended last month through October. Many of them contradict what Whitmer is saying, and this is causing consternation among employers.

Simultaneously, MIOSHA is pushing to make most of the emergency rules permanent once the “temporary” ones expire. Michigan is one of only three states contemplating such a long-term solution for what should be a temporary crisis.

For the permanent rules to take effect, the agency has to go through the formal rule-making process. It is currently taking public comment on the rules, and has a public hearing scheduled Wednesday.

This has business groups on edge as these complicated mandates could make a return to the office extremely hard to navigate. Employers who are found out of compliance face large fines.

The rules, which comprise eight pages and more than 3,400 words, lay out strict guidelines for all businesses, from restaurants to stadiums. As the rules are currently written, masks are required of employees and customers, and vaccination status isn’t mentioned at all.

Social distancing, cleaning requirements and health screening of employees are also paramount. And no sunset provisions are included.

The draft language of these permanent rules has not changed as of this writing, despite the new mask guidance.

In a statement from earlier in the week, COVID-19 Workplace Safety Director Sean Egan said: “MIOSHA is in the process of reviewing the emergency rules and draft permanent rules and will soon post updates that reflect the CDC’s recent guidance.”

A spokesman for the Labor Department said Wednesday the review is still ongoing.

That’s extremely vague. It also raises plenty of concerns about what these unelected bureaucrats will suggest. For instance, will they make employers congregate vaccinated employees who can go maskless away from other coworkers? Will some form of “vaccine passport” be necessary for businesses to comply?

As we’ve seen in recent weeks, vaccines are making a huge difference in combating the virus and things are improving quickly. It makes no sense for the Whitmer administration to be pursuing permanent restrictions that will cripple our state’s comeback.

— Detroit News