The first google hit isn't always the best.
Again, from Forbes but this article is from last week.
Michigan Bans May Stores From Selling Seeds, Home Gardening Supplies, Calls Them "Not Necessary"
Excerpts:
Last week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
ordered all stores larger than 50,000-square feet to cordon off their garden centers and plant nurseries, blocking customers from shopping in those sections through April 30
In fact, the day before Gov. Whitmer announced her order, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
affirmed that garden centers and plant nurseries are "critical sectors," a decision that reversed his earlier order to shut them down. Now those businesses can reopen, so long as they abide by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's
guidance for social distancing.
Make no mistake: Michigan's ban on selling plants imposed steep costs, with many workers and small business owners fearing for their livelihoods. According to the
Michigan Farm Bureau, the state’s gardening industry employs over 9,000 workers, and generates up to $700 million in sales each year.
Moreover, the retail plant industry is highly seasonal. Between mid-March and Memorial Day, greenhouses and garden centers typically earn
60 to 80% of their total sales. As the owner of one greenhouse in Michigan told
Crain’s Detroit Business, “We do all of our business in about eight weekends. Our whole year is 16 days. So when the governor shuts us off, she pretty much destroys my business.”
so, when put in perspective, not severe.
