News Photo by Crystal Nelson A U.S. Postal Service truck on Monday drives past the wreckage of Habitat for Humanity Northeast Michigan’s former ReStore at the corner of Chisholm Street and 5th Avenue. Habitat officials plan to have the site cleaned up by June 1.

ALPENA — The work of Habitat for Humanity Northeast Michigan has been slowed but not stopped by the coronavirus.

In March, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered Michiganders to stay home unless absolutely necessary to prevent the spread of the virus, seven of Habitat’s employees were furloughed, the newly opened ReStore at 2118 Werth Road was closed, and work was halted at the site of the former ReStore, which was destroyed by fire in November.

Executive Director Ted Fines and Office Manager Tanya Abbert are the only employees working for the organization that builds affordable housing and runs the store where residents can buy affordable home repair materials and home furnishings.

Fines said Whitmer’s stay-at-home order delayed many projects. A new home in Harrisville, for example, has been pushed back, and the family is now looking at a fall instead of summer move-in date.

Fines said the nonprofit also has property on Merchant Street in Alpena where it expects to build a home, and is working with the Presque Isle County Treasurer’s Office to acquire one foreclosed home in Rogers City and a second in Onaway.

“Our goal this year was to build three additional houses, and that’s shot, now,” Fines said. “That’s not going to happen. If we’re lucky, we may be able to build an additional house on Merchant Street.”

Despite the setbacks, Fines remains optimistic about the organization’s future.

Click through the timeline below to see how the virus spread across Northeast Michigan. Story continues below the timeline.

On Saturday, Habitat learned it had received funding from the Paycheck Protection Program established by Congress to help soften the pandemic’s economic blow. The money will help pay rent, utilities, and payroll the organization incurred during the stay-at-home order, which Fines called “really, really helpful, to say the least.”

Fines said the money will allow Habitat to bring back all of its furloughed employees.

He said the plan is to finish clearing the site of the old ReStore, where Habitat plans to rebuild, by June 1.

At the same time, the new ReStore would reopen on a “partial-basis,” Fines said, with a limited number of people allowed to enter the store at one time. Customers will be required to wear masks, either their own or one provided by Habitat. Crews will also sanitize the store, he said.

“We have to take this seriously, because we have to follow certain protocols to keep everyone safe, including our staff,” Fines said. “We have to keep our construction site safe, our ReStore safe, and our office safe, but people still have needs.”

As of Monday, 107 Northeast Michigan residents have been confirmed infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus: 87 Alpena County residents, 11 Presque Isle County residents, five Montmorency County residents, and four Alcona County residents. Eight people from Alpena County and one person from Alcona County have died while infected with COVID-19.

Health officials report one Alpena County resident, one Montmorency County resident, and two Presque Isle County residents have recovered from the disease.

Statewide, 47,552 people have been infected, 4,584 have died, and at least 22,686 people have recovered.

Fines said people still need critical home repairs and to qualify for affordable homes, and many can’t afford to go to Home Depot, so they come to the ReStore.

“We’re not going anywhere,” he said. “We fill a need, and we’re going to be there for the rest of the year. Bear with us. And, if this is the normal, we’ll just have to deal with it the best we can.”

News Staff Writer Meakalia Previch-Liu contributed to this report.