With the holidays approaching, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has announced new efforts to combat the spread of Covid.
The state’s health department issued an advisory Thursday urging residents to limit holiday gatherings to no more than ten people, down from 25.
In addition, Hogan issued an emergency order banning non-essential travel in Maryland and establishing new requirements for those who do cross the state’s borders. Under the terms of the order, anyone traveling to Maryland from another state must self-quarantine for ten days or get a negative Covid test. (This requirement does not apply if traveling from DC, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia.)
“This holiday season could present perhaps our toughest challenge yet,” Hogan said in a press release. “Our message today is simple: you are safer at home for the holidays this year. Making difficult sacrifices during these next few weeks will absolutely help to keep your family, loved ones, and your fellow Marylanders safe.”
See the full list of restrictions here.
The new measures come a day after efforts intended to slow the spread of Covid in Maryland suffered a setback, when a judge temporarily blocked an executive order in Ann Arundel County that would have banned in-person dining there, according to FOX5.
The suit was brought by a handful of local restaurants; the ruling allows indoor dining to continue at least until a hearing on the matter takes place on December 28, FOX5 reported.
Luke Mullins is a senior writer at Washingtonian magazine focusing on the people and institutions that control the city’s levers of power. He has written about the Koch Brothers’ attempt to take over The Cato Institute, David Gregory’s ouster as moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, the collapse of Washington’s Metro system, and the conflict that split apart the founders of Politico.
