Restaurants, Bars Shut Down For 4 Weeks In Anne Arundel County

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — As the fall coronavirus surge takes hold, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman tightened regulations on Thursday. The new restrictions are temporary, he said, and will last until Jan. 13. If hospitalizations do not improve, however, they may continue longer.

Effective Wednesday at 5 p.m., restaurants and bars must close all indoor and outdoor dining. They may remain open for takeout.

"We have done everything we could in recent months to prevent this from happening," Pittman said. "Now, we find ourselves going the opposite direction."

The latest executive order affects many industries in the county. These businesses must close during the four-week period:

• Bingo and pool halls
• Ice and roller skating rinks
• Bowling alleys
• Theaters
• Live entertainment venues
• Organized sports centers
• Adult entertainment facilities

Other businesses saw partial rollbacks. These establishments may stay open at 25 percent of their fire code capacity:

• Retailers
• Casinos
• Personal services (salons, barbers and tattoo parlors)
• Social clubs (such as chapters of the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars)
• Gyms

Fitness facilities will require all patrons to wear masks. There used to be more wiggle room for people performing vigorous exercise.

That's no longer the case. Everybody inside a gym must wear a mask at all times without any exceptions. Fitness classes at gyms are also on hold.

Addiction recovery groups fall in the 25 percent capacity bunch, but they may never exceed 50 attendees. Religious facilities face a one-third capacity cap. They may have outdoor gatherings with up to 250 people.

"We understand that this is going to be a burden for our residents," the county executive said. "None of us wanted to make these decisions."

Pittman mentioned that the county will start a public information campaign called "Takeout Anne Arundel." This initiative will explain the importance of takeout dining and ask residents to support local bars and restaurants during the temporary shutdown.

"I want to encourage people to think about this the way they did early in the pandemic," the county executive said. "We need to do takeout."

Pittman hosted a virtual press conference Wednesday, inviting representatives from the seven other largest jurisdictions in Maryland. The meeting included leaders from Baltimore City plus Baltimore, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Some of those officials outlined new rules for their residents.

Baltimore City will close its theaters as well as its indoor and outdoor dining, Mayor Brandon Scott explained. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said he motioned to shut down indoor dining and limit capacities at large retailers. Erlich's proposal still needs approval from the County Council.

Pittman last added regulations on Nov. 12. At that time, he trimmed restaurants and bars to 25 percent capacity, limited indoor social gatherings to 10 people and capped outdoor groups at 25. His most recent measures are even tighter.

"There’s nothing political about this," Pittman said on Wednesday's call. "This is about saving lives in our counties."

The county executive stopped short of saying he would close businesses again. He instead cheered owners for operating safely and following health orders.

Statewide contact tracing data shed some light on where residents may transmit the virus. Tracers ask coronavirus patients where they went in the 14 days before testing positive.

The data cannot pinpoint where a person caught the disease, but they suggest common trends among Marylanders who get sick. These were the five most-reported activities among positive individuals since data tracking began on July 10:

• 21,314 worked outside their home
• 13,714 shopped indoors
• 12,475 went to a social gathering of 10 or more people
• 8,656 dined inside a restaurant or bar
• 6,149 ate outside one of those businesses

Pittman is especially concerned with the state's rising hospital usage. On Wednesday, Maryland clocked a record-high 1,715 coronavirus-related hospitalizations.

The county executive said that number could reach 10,000 if nothing changes in the coming months, citing his briefings from Johns Hopkins University. Maryland hospitals can expand to a maximum of 8,000 beds for all types of patients, both coronavirus and non-coronavirus, if they activate Gov. Larry Hogan's emergency plan.

About 85 percent of the state's acute beds are occupied, Hogan said Tuesday. The intensive care unit is 87 percent full, he noted.

Hogan is working to expand the state's health care reserves. Medical workers interested in helping can sign up at www.marylandmednow.com.

This fall surge challenges Maryland's health care system in new ways. Hospitals canceled elective procedures during the spring wave, dedicating most professionals to the front lines. These surgeries have since returned, meaning fewer workers are available to fight the virus.

Pittman and his colleagues urged Hogan to institute more statewide prevention measures to curb their hospitalization woes. They said Maryland's shared hospital system and porous county borders make it challenging to control the outbreak in each jurisdiction.

Hogan sets the maximum degree that counties may reopen. Local leaders may be more restrictive, but they cannot be more lenient.

"We push the governor if we think there is additional action [needed] statewide," Pittman said. "The governor understands what’s at stake here. He is a smart guy."

Hogan is working on rolling out the state's coronavirus vaccination plan. Maryland could get its first 155,000 shots within weeks, the governor indicated Tuesday.

"The cavalry is coming," Hogan said. "A vaccine is on the way, but it is absolutely critical that we continue to fight this virus with everything we've got."

Hogan has his own press conference Thursday at 3 p.m. Marylanders can tune in at this link.

To catch up on the latest coronavirus trends in Anne Arundel County, read Patch's most recent update.

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Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.