Resumption of Outdoor Dining,
Youth Sports, Day Camps, Outdoor Pools Can Reopen Under Strict Protocols and
Public Health Guidance
Governor Larry Hogan today announced that due to successful Stage One re-openings across the state and improvements in key data and metrics, the State of Maryland can now safely move forward with the completion of Stage One of the
‘Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery,’
which includes the resumption of outdoor dining and outdoor activities such as "low contact" youth sports and youth day camps, and the reopening of outdoor pools and drive-in movie theaters.
Thanks to the hundreds of you who have contacted our office with questions, unfortunately, we do not have all of the answers. The links included in this newsletter are what we know from the Governor’s Office. Some of the information is challenging to interpret and we must just use good judgement as to the spirit of the directives and the goal to weaken and defeat this pandemic. We expect to have another announcement from the Governor as early as next week if all goes well.
The District 5 Delegation- Senator Ready and Delegates Rose, Shoemaker and myself along with our County Commissioners, Sheriff, States Attorney, Mayors and other local elected leaders, have been working to encourage the Governor to reopen Maryland in the most expeditious manner and to allow the local elected officials to determine what works best for their own jurisdictions. We still have a long way to go to be able to get Marylanders back to work, our lives back to a new normal, and our students back to school in the fall.
MARYLAND’S POSITIVITY RATE HAS DROPPED BY HALF
LOWER RISK DOES NOT MEAN NO RISK
.
Governor Hogan continued to stress the importance of staying home as much as possible, avoiding crowds of people, teleworking when possible, practicing physical distancing, and wearing masks in indoor public areas.
Effective Friday, May 29, at 5:00 pm:
~Important: Please click the links below for detailed information & guidelines.~
OUTDOOR DINING
.
Restaurants must:
- Ensure patrons are appropriately distanced with no more than six people seated at a table, with the exception of members of the same household.
- Ensure patrons are seated at least six feet away from each other, except for households seated together.
- Use single-use disposable paper menus or sanitize reusable menus between each seating.
- Sanitize outdoor tables and chairs between each customer seating.
- Staff: Train staff in current COVID-19 health and workplace guidelines, take daily temperature checks, and ensure staff wear face masks.
In an effort to promote safer dining and support the restaurant industry, the governor is encouraging local jurisdictions to expand the footprint of outdoor dining by allowing for the closing of streets and expanding into parking lots and public outdoor spaces.
YOUTH SPORTS (Low Contact)
.
YOUTH DAY CAMPS
.
OUTDOOR POOLS
.
All outdoor pools may reopen with strict safety guidelines including:
- 25% capacity restrictions.
- Strict physical distancing and sanitization measures.
- Patrons will be required to sign-in and sign-out.
- All pools will be required to post signage warning anyone who is sick not to enter.
STAGE TWO
.
Governor Hogan noted that health officials will continue to watch the data closely, and if these encouraging trends continue into next week, the state will then be in a position to move into Stage Two of the recovery, which would mean lifting the order on non-essential businesses.