12.10.2020 MoCo Announces Additional Safety Restrictions as COVID-19 Cases Continue Increase

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich today announced further safety restrictions in order to slow the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in the County and throughout the Washington region. The restrictions will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

The new Executive Order will restrict restaurant service to outdoor dining. Carry-out, delivery and drive-through service will be allowed to continue. The order also limits indoor sports gatherings to a maximum of 10 people total. (Outdoor dining will be prohibited between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., per an existing Executive Order from Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.) The maximum capacity for retail establishments has been changed to one person per 200 square feet of retail space—not to exceed a maximum of 150 persons.

A three-day rolling average of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County is 438. Hospitalizations and deaths are increasing in the County.

The number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Montgomery County, as reported today by the Maryland Department of Health, showed an increase of more than 2,000 in the past week. The County has had more than 37,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 956 deaths.

County officials continue to remind residents that wearing a mask is the law in the County and throughout Maryland. This includes outdoors. Wearing a plastic face shield does not satisfy the face covering mandate, nor does wearing a face covering with a valve. Those examples have been shown to be ineffective at protecting the spread of the aerosol droplets that can cause COVID-19.