Indoor, Outdoor Dining Restrictions Ending In Anne Arundel County

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Life in Anne Arundel County will take a huge step toward normal this weekend when it lifts restrictions on indoor and outdoor event venues and dining at bars and restaurants. The changes will take effect on Saturday, May 15.

All businesses in Maryland will be able to open at 100 percent capacity on Saturday, Gov. Larry Hogan said earlier Wednesday, bringing an end to COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place for more than a year.

“After consulting with our Health Officer, we have decided to follow the state’s lead,” County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a news release. “We believe that our low case rates will continue through the summer, but the only effective way to prevent a fall surge in cases will be a summer surge in vaccinations.”

The county is accepting vaccination appointments for 12- to 15-year-olds, effective immediately. The Food and Drug Administration extended the federal emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and the CDC has recommended it for use for 12- to 15-year-olds.

For more information on how to get vaccinated, visit https://www.aacounty.org/covidvax/.

Hogan lifted all restrictions on all outdoor entertainment, art, sports venues — including all ticketed events — as well as indoor entertainment venues, conventions, and other businesses.

The indoor mask mandate still remains. But Hogan says everyone can ditch their face coverings once 70 percent of Maryland adults receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Related: Capacity Restrictions To Be Lifted, MD Prepares To Vaccinate Kids

The state officially surpassed having 65 percent of adults inoculated on Tuesday. At 65.1 percent, Maryland is outpacing the national vaccination rate of 58.7 percent, data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed.

At a press conference Wednesday, Hogan said "we are well on our way to reaching" the 70-percent vaccination benchmark by Memorial Day weekend — which is ahead of President Joe Biden's national goal of July 4.

Hogan on Wednesday again encouraged residents to get inoculated as soon as possible, saying it's "the fastest way to get rid of our damn masks and to put this pandemic behind us once and for all." He also noted that people who do not get vaccinated are slowing the state's economic recovery efforts and putting themselves and others at risk for infection, hospitalization, and death.

All adults in Maryland are eligible to get the vaccine. Shots are being offered through county health departments, state-run mass vaccination sites, hospitals, and pharmacies.

Anyone with questions or concerns can call the state's COVID-19 Vaccination Support Center at 1-855-MDGOVAX (1-855-634-6829). More information about vaccines, as well as how to get them, can be found here.

Patch Editor Alessia Grunberger contributed reporting to this story.