About Coronavirus 2020
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“Over the past two weeks we have been encouraged by all the successful stage one openings all over the state,” Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said in a press conference today, with an update on the state’s reopening, which began two weeks ago. “All of this progress allows us to now safely move forward with the completion of the stage one recovery plan.”
Effective Friday, May 29 at 5 PM, Maryland jurisdictions will be allowed to permit the following:
- Restaurants and social organizations (Elks Clubs, American Legions, etc.) can reopen for outdoor dining following “strict public health requirements,” including ensuring that patrons are socially distanced, no more than six people are sat at a table, paper menus replace reusable ones, and restaurant employees are screened daily including the taking of their temperatures. “We love the idea of closing streets for outside dining,” Hogan said, noting that such places as Little Italy and Fells Point in Baltimore, and West and Main streets in Annapolis may do so to “expand footprints and allow for more outdoor dining.”
- “Safe” youth sports activities may resume following CDC guidelines and limited group sizes. Youth day camp may also resume for outdoor activities.
- Outdoor pools may reopen at 25 percent capacity.
- Drive-in movie theaters may reopen.
Hogan cited downward trends in the percentages of Maryland counties infected, hospitalizations (with the exception of a recent two-day increase he is hopeful is a “blip”), and other Covid-19 related statistics, and said that if “these encouraging trends continue into next week we would then be in a position to begin entering state 2 of our recovery.”
The roadmap to recovery plan will continue its community-based approach, Hogan said, allowing individual jurisdictions to make updates as they see fit, and noting that 23 out of 24 jurisdictions (Montgomery County excluded) have either entered stage one or announced plans to do so.
More detailed information and guidelines, Hogan said, are now available at open.maryland.gov/backtobusiness.
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
