Pittman Loosens Capacity Restrictions, Reopens Businesses

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Anne Arundel County loosed coronavirus restrictions Wednesday. The new rules take effect Friday.

Some businesses will be allowed to welcome customers for the first time since Dec. 9, 2020. These places are allowed to reopen at a quarter capacity:

• Indoor theaters
• Live call bingo halls
• Pool halls
• Outdoor sporting venues
• Cigar and hookah lounges
• Adult entertainment facilities

Organized sports may start on Feb. 8. Practices, with capacity restrictions, are permitted until then. The Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks spring sports season is cleared to begin March 1.

Additionally, these indoor establishments will expand to half capacity Friday:

• Restaurants
• Bars
• Houses of worship
• Retailers
• Personal service providers
• Addiction recovery groups
• Social clubs
• Gyms (Masks are required while exercising)
• Product exhibitions
• Casinos
• Bowling alleys
• Ice and roller rinks
• Electronic call bingo halls

Most of these venues were previously capped at 25 percent volume. Religious facilities were limited to a third of their normal guests.

Indoor social gatherings are still restricted to 10 people. Outdoor gatherings may not exceed 25 attendees.

County Executive Steuart Pittman said the declining coronavirus metrics convinced him it's safe to ease regulations. Pittman was pleased with the case rate and hospitalization levels in particular.

The county's case rate, or the weekly average number of new infections-per-day per 100,000 residents, reached a record high of 64.99 on Jan. 12. That meant infections were rolling in four times faster than they were last spring.

The case rate has nearly halved since then. By Wednesday, it fell to 36.43, which is the lowest clip since Dec. 4, 2020.

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are also starting to fall. They hit a recent high of 168 on Jan. 8. That rivaled their all-time high of 172, set on April 21, 2020.

Since peaking, hospitalizations have dipped to 135, which is their lowest level since Dec. 15, 2020.

"Our goal is to get people back to work and allow sports to resume," Pittman said in a press release. "Doing both while also reopening our schools by March 1 are only possible if we as individuals continue to protect ourselves and our neighbors. I trust that Anne Arundel County residents will do their part."

The full list of regulations and exceptions are laid out in Pittman's latest executive order. Frequently asked questions will be answered here.

To see when you'll be eligible for the inoculation, read Patch's explainer. Check out our how-to guide to learn how to sign up for the shot. Catch up on the latest coronavirus infection and vaccination metrics in Anne Arundel County by heading to our latest numbers update.

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