Governor Larry Hogan says Maryland is ready to complete phase one of recovery at state level
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced on Wednesday that much of the state is ready to complete stage one of its “road to recovery” after COVID-19 metrics recorded by health officials continue to show improvement.
This new phase in the so-called “Maryland Roadmap to Recovery” excludes those counties and jurisdictions that do not believe their health statistics reflect enough improvement to begin the reopening process safely – like Montgomery County and Prince George’s County.
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Despite showing marked improvement in their statistics, Montgomery County has refrained from announcing a reopening date.
Prince George’s County – which has the highest case total in the state – has announced it will enter phase one on Monday, June 1.
Other jurisdictions – like Anne Arundel, Howard and Charles counties; along with the city of Annapolis – have elected to take a slower, more modified approach to reopening than the rest of the state.
Effective Friday at 5 p.m., a number of restrictions prompted by the effort to slow the novel coronavirus will be relaxed, and some new guidelines will be put in place.
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Some of the new features will include:
- Youth sports activities may resume according to CDC guidelines – including limited, low contact, along with outdoor practices
- Outdoor activities at youth day camps can resume with limited capacity of no more than 10 individuals in a group, and daily COVID-19 symptom checks for campers and staff
- Outdoor pools can reopen with strict safety guidelines, including 25 percent capacity and physical distance and sanitization measures
- Pool visitors must sign in and sign out, and signage warning those who are sick to stay away must be posted
- Drive in movie-theaters will also be able to reopen
The governor said that if the state’s metrics continue to show improvement next week, Maryland will be able to enter the next stage of the road to recovery plan.
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