Anne Arundel County will align with state guidance on outdoor amusements and limited indoor seating for restaurants
Annapolis, Md. (June 10, 2020) County Executive Pittman announced today that Anne Arundel County will implement additional Stage 2 reopenings on Friday, June 12 at 5:00 p.m., in line with Governor Larry Hogan’s latest executive order. At that time, county restaurants may begin offering limited indoor seating up to 50% capacity with strict safety precautions in place. Outdoor amusements and rides, including miniature golf and go-kart tracks, may also resume under state guidance.
To address concerns that state reopening actions are happening too quickly, County Executive Pittman and county Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman announced that Anne Arundel County will put an additional layer of precautions onto some of the reopening actions. This includes a requirement for face coverings for employees and customers in retail businesses and inside restaurants.
County Executive Pittman released the following statement:
“Moving forward at this pace carries some risk, but the confusion created by separate rules from the state and local jurisdictions does not work from a planning or a public health perspective. We must all be in this together.
Our ability to keep our numbers declining now depends on strict adherence to best practices by our businesses, and careful distancing and face covering by our residents. With government restrictions being relaxed, it is time for us as individuals to complete the work we started. Let’s isolate this virus.”
County Executive Pittman made his announcement after reviewing Governor Hogan's latest executive order and guidance and consulting with health officials, his county attorney, and his COVID-19 recovery work group. The County Executive will sign an executive order tomorrow before 5:00 p.m. to enable these new reopening actions.
Anne Arundel County intends to follow state reopenings for indoor fitness facilities, casinos, arcades and malls on June 19, consistent with Governor Hogan’s order. Also on that date, the county will reopen restrooms and playgrounds in county parks.
The Anne Arundel County Department of Health maintains a reopening dashboard to track public health measures that influence policy decisions. Other resources and information is available on the county’s road to recovery webpage.