Maryland Announces Beginning of State's Re-Opening

Dear WANADA Members,

This afternoon, Gov. Larry Hogan announced that Maryland is continuing to make progress on its four stated benchmarks for recovery, and that the state could move to stage one of its Roadmap to Recovery as soon as next week.

Gov. Hogan's announced that the state will be publishing a list later in the week with additional outdoor and indoor activities that will be permitted in the initial re-opening stage.  The governor said that first step in the "low risk" phase of the reopening, as outlined in page 26 of the Roadmap, will likely include a loosening of restrictions on religious gatherings, certain elective medical procedures, and certain "quality of life" outdoor activities at private facilities.

The governor added that certain other previously-shuttered businesses may also be permitted to reopen sometime next week, provided that the state continues making progress in reducing the spread of COVID-19, and continues a decline in the rate of hospitalizations and serious cases. Maryland will also re-open state parks and beaches at 7 a.m. on Thursday for outdoor activities including camping and fishing.  Gatherings of 10 or more people will continue to be prohibited, even under a wider stage one re-opening.

As you know well by now, Maryland dealerships and auto repair facilities are currently allowed to remain open, under state legal guidance issued back in March. The state has also issued an order requiring businesses to provide their employees with masks and to require that patrons use them in stores, and almost every Maryland county in our region has also issued safety regulations of their own.

We anticipate that these regulations will remain in force for the near future, and continue to encourage you to adhere stringently to all state and local guidelines around workplace safety and social distancing. It is very important that you continue documenting your efforts to comply with all of the state and local ordinances that have been imposed thus far; as far as we know, state and local compliance enforcement is continuing, and will continue for at least the near future.

Please let me or Joe Koch ( jk@wanada.org) know if you have any questions about this update. When Maryland published more detailed information about specifically what a "phase one" re-opening will look like, we will let you know right away. And as always, you can find a wealth of resources, including links to Maryland, D.C., and Virginia's reopening plans, on the WANADA COVID-19 Information Library. Thank you.

Sincerely,
  
John O'Donnell
WANADA President and CEO