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Alerts and Updates

Many Maryland Counties and Cities to Retain Restrictions Despite Governor Lifting the Stay-at-Home Order

May 15, 2020

Many Maryland Counties and Cities to Retain Restrictions Despite Governor Lifting the Stay-at-Home Order

May 15, 2020

Read below

The current reopening plan for each Maryland county, along with Baltimore City and Ocean City, is set forth below.

When Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that he would lift the statewide stay-at-home order and launch the state’s three-stage recovery plan at 5:00 p.m. on May 15, 2020, he expressly gave local governments the authority to take a more restrictive approach. Many Maryland counties have since announced that they will retain some or all of the statewide restrictions, and several will remain under local stay-at-home orders.

The current reopening plan for each Maryland county, along with Baltimore City and Ocean City, is set forth below. The Maryland Association of Counties website provides resource pages for each county that should be consulted for up-to-date information about this evolving and flexible approach to reopening Maryland.

Allegany County

Allegany County has not released any information concerning its reopening plans.

Anne Arundel County

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman announced modifications to how the county will implement stage one of the state’s recovery efforts. Specifically: (1) retail businesses may reopen for curbside pickup only; (2) automatic carwashes are permitted to reopen; (3) animal shelters may reopen; (4) pet groomers may open for pet drop-off or pickup only; (5) hair salons may operate by appointment only and with only one customer at a time; (6) religious gatherings are not permitted to reopen; and (7) manufacturing businesses and facilities within the county may reopen.

Baltimore City

Baltimore City Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced  that the city will remain under a stay-at-home order until key criteria are met, including: (1) a sustained decrease of community deaths; (2) a sustained decrease in new COVID-19 cases in the community; (3) adequate community testing for symptomatic individuals and frontline/essential workers; and (4) a sustained, robust contact tracing system.

Baltimore County

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski announced modifications in how the county will implement stage one of the state’s recovery efforts. Olszewski will issue an executive order effective May 15 at 5:00 p.m., taking the following actions: (1) prohibiting gatherings or events of 10 or more people; (2) permitting retail stores that were previously closed in Baltimore County to reopen for curbside pickup and delivery only; (3) permitting remaining manufacturing to reopen; (4) requiring religious institutions to remain closed and continuing to apply the restriction on gatherings of more than 10 people to religious gatherings; (5) requiring personal services establishments, including barbershops, nail salons and hair salons, to remain closed; and (6) encouraging residents of and visitors to Baltimore County to stay home except for essential reasons.

Calvert County

Calvert County extended its local state of emergency an additional 30 days, but will otherwise follow state guidance on plans to reopen.

Caroline County

Caroline County announced it will follow the state’s implementation of stage one of the recovery plan with exceptions, including that: (1) playgrounds must remain closed; and (2) beauty salons and barber shops may open at up to 50 percent capacity to provide hair services by appointment only and must clean and disinfect after each customer and comply with physical distancing guidance from the CDC and Maryland Department of Health.

Carroll County

Carroll County will follow the state’s implementation of stage one of the recovery plan.

Cecil County

Cecil County has announced it will reopen “in tune with” the state’s recovery plan.

Charles County

Charles County is postponing lifting restrictions for two weeks, until May 29, 2020. The stay-at-home order will remain in place in Charles County until that time, at which point Charles County will begin a phased-approach recovery.

Dorchester County

Dorchester County has not released any information concerning its reopening plans.

Frederick County

Frederick County announced that it will extend the stay-at-home order locally, except that as of 5:00 p.m. on May 15, the following will be permitted: (1) curbside pickup at all retail establishments of any size; (2) manufacturing facilities may reopen; (3) small retail businesses (with less than 10,000 square feet of space) may open at up to 50 percent of their capacity; and (4) animal adoption facilities, car washes and pet grooming facilities may reopen.

Garrett County

Garrett County will follow the state’s implementation of stage one of the recovery plan.

Harford County

Harford County will follow the state’s implementation of stage one of the recovery plan.

Howard County

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced modifications in how the county will implement stage one of the state’s recovery efforts, including the following: (1) religious services may resume with 10 people or fewer, preferably in outdoor settings; (2) barber shops and hair salons may open by appointment only with only one customer allowed in a location at a time; and (3) retail businesses may open but are restricted to curbside pickup or delivery only. Howard County has not and does not at this time intend to implement a local stay-at-home order, but encourages residents to stay home as much as possible and to abide by Governor Hogan’s “Safer at Home” public health advisory.

Kent County

Kent County has not released any information concerning its reopening plans, and instead refers to Governor Hogan’s plan regarding best practices for reopening businesses on its website.

Montgomery County

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced that the stay-at-home order will remain in effect in Montgomery County until local conditions improve. The key metrics that must be met before Montgomery County will relax restrictions are: (1) a sustained decrease during a 14-day period of new cases in an environment of increased testing; (2) a sustained decrease in the COVID-19 related hospitalization rate; (3) a sustained decrease in the percentage of COVID-19-related ICU beds in use; (4) a sustained decrease in the number of COVID-19-related daily deaths; and (5) a sustained decrease in the number of COVID-19-related patients going to county emergency rooms.

Ocean City

Ocean City will follow the state’s implementation of stage one of the recovery plan, which follows Mayor Rick Meehan repealing the ban on rentals and short-term lodging effective May 14. Ocean City’s boardwalk and beaches reopened last weekend. Social distancing guidelines remain in effect.

Prince George’s County

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced that the county will extend the stay-at-home order until June 1, 2020, leaving in place the same restrictions that have been in place statewide since March 30, 2020.

Queen Anne’s County

Queen Anne’s County has not released any information concerning its reopening plans.

Somerset County

Somerset County has not released any information concerning its reopening plans.

St. Mary’s County

St. Mary’s County will follow the state’s implementation of stage one of the recovery plan.

Talbot County

Talbot County will follow the state’s implementation of stage one of the recovery plan. 

Washington County

Washington County’s website states that it is preparing “for a safe reopening” and that it “will move forward under the direction of the State of Maryland at the appropriate time.”

Wicomico County

Wicomico County has not released any information concerning its reopening plans.

Worcester County

Worcester County will follow the state’s implementation of stage one of the recovery plan. On Thursday, May 14, Worcester County commissioners rescinded the prior ban on all short-term rental properties, permitting short-term rentals to resume in West Ocean City, Ocean Pines and all other unincorporated areas of Worcester County.

About Duane Morris

Duane Morris has created a COVID-19 Strategy Team to help companies plan, respond to and address this fast-moving situation. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.

For More Information

If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Robert B. Hopkins, Carla N. Murphy, Allison M. Midei, any of the attorneys in our Baltimore office, any member of the COVID-19 Strategy Team or the attorney in the firm with whom you are in regular contact.

Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.