Maryland ready to complete Stage One of reopening, Gov. Hogan says.

Outdoor dining, youth camps, sports and pools can all reopen Friday, May 29 at 5 p.m. with restrictions.

After 14 days of "continued encouraging trends," Maryland is ready to take additional steps to complete Stage One of reopening, and loosen certain restrictions starting Friday, Gov. Larry Hogan says. Hogan cited "dramatic progress" on the state's testing capacities and contact tracing operations, decreasing positivity rates and hospitalizations, and a plateauing of ICU patients as evidence for moving forward with reopening.

Maryland reached its goal of conducting 10,000 tests per day as of Wednesday, and contact tracing capacity was increased by nearly 500%, with more than 1,400 case investigators statewide. Maryland's positivity rate peaked 41 days ago on April 17, when it reached 26.91%, and has since dropped to12.8% statewide.

"Over the past two weeks, we have been encouraged by all the successful Stage One reopenings across the state, and by all the improvements in the important data and metrics statewide," Hogan said. "All of this progress allows us to now safely move forward with the completion of Stage One of our recovery plan."

Effective Friday, May 29 at 5 p.m., restaurants can reopen outdoor dining, youth camps and sports can resume outdoor activities and pools and drive-in theaters can open, all with restrictions in place.

Restaurant restrictions include:

Tables must be six feet apart
No more than 6 people per table
Single-use, disposable menus must be used, or reusable menus must be sanitized in between each use
Tables and chairs must be sanitized in between each use
Staff must wear masks when interacting with diners
Daily temperature checks for staff
Hogan also encouraged local leaders to find innovative ways to support their restaurant businesses.'>>>

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