More details on Maryland’s plans to reopen the state in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic will be revealed Wednesday afternoon, and a Montgomery County delegate is expressing concern that it is “way too soon” to reopen at all.
“What we don’t want to see is a second spike,” Del. Kirill Reznik told WTOP’s Hillary Howard Tuesday.
Under the coronavirus recovery plan outlined by Gov. Larry Hogan last month, activities identified as “low risk,” such as opening of small businesses where stores could offer curbside pickup, could resume.
Reznik gave last weekend’s opening of Ocean City as a preview of what could be expected.
“Hundreds if not thousands of people walking along the boardwalk. Very few of them wearing masks. Nobody’s social distancing. The line to Thrasher’s was around the corner and down toward the beach. It was insane,” Reznik said.
Beaches remained largely empty, however, The Associated Press reported.
“Let’s just take the time to let this actually pass over us and not give it the opportunity to kill more people,” Reznik said.
County Executive Marc Elrich said Saturday he is going to be “very careful” about reopening regardless of what Hogan says about Phase 1 of the state’s plan.
“We’re not the western part of the state or parts of the Eastern Shore,” Elrich said in a Zoom meeting with reporters to discuss the county’s management of the coronavirus crisis. “We have a caseload which is still growing.”
Earlier this month, a group known as “Reopen Maryland,” which is opposed to the state’s stay-at-home order, protested against Hogan’s mandates for social distancing and other measures.
Last week, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh defended Hogan’s executive orders to combat the pandemic in a federal court ruling.
Several coronavirus restrictions in the state have already been relaxed, such as bans on recreational boating and fishing that were originally established in March. However, some see room for more flexibility.
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