Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that he will allow more businesses to reopen as key coronavirus metrics continue to trend downward.
Starting 5 p.m. Friday, restaurants will be able to offer indoor dining at 50% capacity, outdoor amusement businesses such as mini golf and go karts will be able to open at 50% capacity, and outdoor swimming pools can increase their capacity to 50%.
“Because of the early and aggressive actions taken, we have not only flattened the curve, we have actually crushed the curve in Maryland,” Mr. Hogan said Wednesday at a press conference. “Every one of the important metrics in our state has continued to drop across the board in every single jurisdiction.”
Mr. Hogan said he is encouraging schools to hold outdoor graduation ceremonies while also following social distancing measures.
State schools Superintendent Karen Salmon announced that schools can begin to allow small groups of 10 to 15 individuals in a room for summer programming.
“Students with the most intense learning needs are the ones who have been hit hardest by the pandemic and without an intense focus on these students they will be the last to recover,” Ms. Salmon said, adding that she is encouraging schools to prioritize programming for those students.
At 5 p.m. June 19, gyms and fitness centers will be able to open at 50% capacity, and casinos, arcades and malls can resume operations.
Mr. Hogan said 23 of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions have coronavirus positivity rates in single digits, and the state’s overall positivity rate is 7.2% — a 73% decrease from the state’s peak 55 days ago.
“Public health officials do have serious concerns however about the dramatic immediate end to physical distancing and the potential public health impact of going from 10-person gathering limits to thousands of people gathering together in close proximity,” Mr. Hogan said.
State health officials are encouraging everyone who attended a protest to get tested for the coronavirus. Mr. Hogan cited studies show an increased rate of infection by 250% among those who attended the protest.
Meanwhile, the District on Wednesday was in its ninth day of sustained decrease in community transmission of the virus, with 14 consecutive days of decrease required for the city to move into phase two of reopening its economy, according to the D.C. Department of Health.
Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, the city’s health director, said the earliest the District could move to that phase is June 19.
As for the other metrics, the District was at day 10 of 14 of hospital capacity being below 80%, and the city has achieved the low positivity and transmission rates required for reopening.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the contact tracing force has about 200 people, and 100 city government employees will be added to the trace force by Monday.
Miss Bowser was tested for the third time for coronavirus Wednesday at 2241 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, after she took off her mask at a protest over the weekend.
“I’m getting tested today because I have been out and about probably more than I have been, and I expected to be out more because we are in phase one, that’s why I’m getting tested,” the mayor said, adding that she feels great.
Dr. Nesbitt said it would be wise for those who participated in protests over the weekend to be tested, self-monitor for symptoms and telework for the next two weeks.
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