Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
Bad news for Prince George’s County residents who are sick of COVID-19. Masks will be required outside starting at 5 p.m. Sunday, and other restrictions will go into effect at that time as numbers spike putting the county in the high risk zone.
“All of us are sick of COVID-19 to be honest with you, but the faster we comply, the better of we’ll be,” Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said at a press conference Thursday where she urged people to hunker down as a second wave hits.
Starting Sunday masks will be required for anyone out in public in Prince George’s County, even those who are outside and able to practice social distancing. The only exception is for those who are doing rigorous exercise.
“Wear a face mask in public. Period. If you leave your house, then you’re in public, then you have to have a mask on,” the county’s health director Dr. Ernest Young said.
Restaurants will be limited to 25% capacity indoors and 50% outdoors. Grocery stores and other essential businesses will be limited to 50%, something Alsobrooks said she isn’t thrilled with given that people may have to wait outside in the cold to get into stores. Gyms will remain open, but they will not be allowed to have more than 1 person per 200 square feet. Outdoor gatherings will be capped at 25, and indoor get togethers will be restricted to 10 people, or 1 person per 200 square feet.
“It does not mean you can cram 10 people in your apartment thinking you’re following the rules. Let’s do a little math to hammer that home,” Young said. People who have apartments that are 600 square feet can only have 3 people in the apartment at the same time.
After problems with people renting hotel rooms at National Harbor so their teens could party, Alsobrooks said the county will be fining hotels that allow parties.
The county’s contract tracings finds parties and social gatherings are super spreader events, according to Alsobrooks.
The new restrictions come as the weather gets colder, and people will want to get together with families and friends for holidays including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“I know it’s tough for you to hear this, but the health department strongly recommends not attending or hosting holiday gatherings with people who are not in your immediate household, especially indoor gatherings,” Young said.
Alsobrooks stressed the new restrictions have not been selected arbitrarily but rather based on contact tracing and other data. Young said community spread is nearly high enough for the county to be in the critical category, and there was a 20% increase in new confirmed cases in the last week.
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