ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland will reduce indoor operations for bars and restaurants from 75% to 50% in response to rising coronavirus cases and increased hospitalizations, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday.
The new limits will take effect Wednesday at 5 p.m.
State health officials also have issued a public health advisory effective immediately to strongly discourage indoor gatherings of 25 people or more after contact tracing data showed an increase in cases resulting from family gatherings and house parties.
The announcement came after the state reported earlier in the day that 54 more people were hospitalized with COVID-19 compared with the previous day. The total number of people hospitalized with the disease increased to a total of 761, the highest since June.
Maryland reported 1,338 new cases on Tuesday. It marks the seventh straight day the state has had at least 1,000 cases. Maryland has confirmed more than 156,000 virus cases since the pandemic began. The state also reported 12 more deaths. Maryland has reported a total of at least 4,084 virus-related deaths.
The Republican governor also has directed state government to return to a period of mandatory telework across state agencies except for essential services. State officials also are strongly encouraging businesses to take immediate steps to expand telework.
Hogan has directed the state health department to issue an expanded public health advisory for out-of-state travel. Maryland residents are strongly advised against traveling to any state with a positivity rate above 10% or any state with average case rates above 20 per 100,000.
New guidance for nursing homes and assisted living facilities also has been issued by state officials. Staff should minimize contact with large gatherings and work with their management on communicating early about infection control issues at their facilities, the governor’s office said. Residents should get tested for the coronavirus before they visit, under the guidance.
Meanwhile, the state health department announced the launch of a new app for people with smartphones to receive notification if they might have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
“MD COVID Alert complements our traditional contact tracing efforts to notify users of possible exposure to help contain the virus,” said Health Secretary Robert Neall. “I encourage Marylanders to use MD COVID Alert to help protect the people around them, including those they might not know directly.”
Starting Tuesday, state residents with an iPhone or Android smartphone will receive a push notification inviting them to receive exposure notification alerts. IPhone users will be able to opt in by enabling exposure notifications in their phone’s settings and selecting Maryland as their region. Android users will be prompted to opt in by installing the MD COVID Alert app from the Google Play Store.
The app is available at no cost and is voluntary. Users can disable exposure notifications at any time.
The health department says the alert system was specifically designed to protect privacy. For example, the department says users remain anonymous, their location is never tracked, and no data is collected from their smartphones.
The system uses Bluetooth technology to detect if two devices are near each other without revealing where the devices are or whom they belong to. The system assigns users a random number. To ensure these random IDs cannot be used to identify users or their whereabouts, they change every 10 to 20 minutes, the state said.
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