Source: Radio One Digital
As coronavirus cases continue to spike this week, previous restrictions that Gov. Larry Hogan had loosened earlier this fall will be going back in place tonight (Friday) at 5 pm.
These restrictions come before the 2020 Holiday season to hopefully further encourage residents to stay safe and at home. Below is a list of the restrictions order by Gov. Larry Hogan:
- Retail businesses, restaurants, and churches are all capped at 50% capacity again.
- Bars and restaurants have a 10 pm curfew.
- Restaurants can still serve people, but there’s no seating at bars, restaurants or diners between 10 p.m. and 6 am Takeout orders will still be permitted during those hours.
- Fans at race tracks and stadiums for professional or collegiate sporting events are no longer permitted.
- Visitations at nursing homes and hospitals are, in most cases, suspended. There are a few exceptions for end of life care and the parents or guardians of minors.
- Any elective medical procedure that isn’t urgent or lifesaving is to be avoided.
On Thursday, Maryland recorded 2,910 new cases which is nearly 600 more cases than the previous one-day high, from earlier this week.
In four of the last six days, the state reported over 2,000 new cases. More than 1,000 new cases have been reported every day for more than two weeks now.
The state’s hospitalization, positivity rates, and case per 100,000 people have also been climbing, with the state’s smaller, less populated counties in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore hit the hardest.
In fact, hospitals are starting to reach capacity again, with about 85% of the state’s hospital beds already filled. As of Thursday morning, there were 1,192 people hospitalized.
“We’ve lost more Marylanders to COVID-19 than we lose to car accidents, gun violence, and the flu combined,” the governor said on Tuesday, the day he mandated the new restrictions. Hogan said about half the people contacted by Maryland’s contact tracing teams refuse to offer any help, but the contact tracing data the state does have “shows a large uptick in new cases among Marylanders who have recently been exposed in bars and restaurants.”
He also said that following health measures like wearing masks and social distancing “drops dramatically” as we continue to work through these uncertain times.
Tonight At 5pm Maryland Reinforces Coronavirus Restrictions was originally published on woldcnews.com
