Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses reporters in Hancock Tuesday after a meeting with Upper Peninsula leaders about COVID-19.

LANSING — As the U.P. continues to see a steady climb in COVID-19 cases, the Upper Peninsula will move back to Phase 4 in the state’s reopening plan on Oct. 9, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday afternoon.

Although the order does not take effect for another week, Whitmer called on the U.P. to implement the changes “as swiftly as possible.”

“After seeing the increase in cases in the U.P. region over the past several weeks and consulting with medical experts, I have decided to take action to protect U.P. families and move the region back a phase,” she said in a statement announcing the move Friday afternoon. “I know this is hard. I know it will be an adjustment. But we can’t let our guard down.”

One of the least-hit areas at the start of the pandemic, the Upper Peninsula now has the highest rate of positive tests and the highest population-adjusted rate of new cases in the state.

It had been in the highest risk category since the end of August. Yet it hit a new gear in mid-September, with the rate of daily new cases more than tripling.

As of Tuesday, the Upper Peninsula had a seven-day average of 5.1% positive tests, up from 1.5% a month ago. The seven-day average of new cases is 205.5 per million — down from a peak of 296.7 on Sept. 24, but well above the 81.8 a month ago.

The state average is 3.3% and 65.9 per million.

The U.P., along with northern Michigan, has been in Phase 5 since early June. Northern Michigan will remain in Phase 5.

With the move back to Phase 4, people who can work remotely will be required to do so.

Social gatherings and organized events will also have tighter restrictions. For indoor residential gatherings can have no more than 10 people. Indoor nonresidential will depend on the size of the facility.

Stores under 50,000 square feet will be required to keep occupancy, including employees, at 25% capacity. Larger stores must limit customers to no more than 20 people per 1,000 square feet of customer floor space. They must also set aside two hours a week as a shopping time for vulnerable populations. They are defined as people over 60, pregnant women, and those with chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease.

Schools are also required to have face coverings at certain times, including the classroom.

In response to the move to Phase 4, Houghton County announced Friday afternoon it would close the courthouse to the general public effective Monday.

People with business to conduct with an office in the courthouse are encouraged to call them directly or go to houghtoncounty.net. In some cases they may be able to make appointments and enter the courthouse.

The Houghton County transfer station will remain open.

As of Tuesday, Whitmer had still sounded hopeful the U.P. would not have to move back to Phase 4.

“No one wants to avoid that more than I do,” she said during a press conference in Hancock Tuesday. “I know that business owners want to avoid that. I know that parents want to avoid that. I know that our teachers and physicians want to avoid that and yet, the increase in numbers is concerning.”

As of Thursday night, Houghton County was at 504 positive cases, up from 337 a week ago. Over the same span, Baraga County rose from 17 to 30.

Houghton County also added two new deaths since Monday, bringing the total to three.

Houghton County’s seven-day average of an 8.1% positive rate over the past seven days is the third-highest in the Upper Peninsula. It is also Houghton County’s third-highest daily average so far during the pandemic.

The number of new cases per million was at 314.3 as of Tuesday, trailing only Delta and Menominee counties. That marks a return to the level of two weeks ago after peaking at 691.5 per million on Sept. 22.

In an effort to limit community spread, Houghton County K-12 schools and universities this week moved most or all classes online for up to two weeks.

Asked Tuesday how those moves might impact the timing of a decision to move back to Phase 4, Whitmer did not provide any time ranges, but said the state would move incrementally.

Whitmer visited Houghton County Tuesday to meet with Upper Peninsula leaders and discuss ways of slowing the spread and to hear their difficulties during the pandemic.

“Now, it’s on all of us to do our part to protect each other,” Copper Country Intermediate School Superintendent George Stockero, who met with Whitmer, said in a statement. “Let’s get our numbers down by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and washing our hands frequently. Yoopers are tough, and we will beat this virus together.”