While Montgomery County, Maryland imposed new restrictions on late-night alcohol sales for bars and restaurants, with more restrictions still under consideration, you’re not likely to see the same thing happen in neighboring Prince George’s County.
At least not yet.
But County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said earlier this week that there’s still a lot of concern about an increasing positive case count, which is higher in her county compared to the rest of Maryland.
- Sign up for WTOP alerts
- Latest coronavirus test results in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know
- Coronavirus resources: Get and give help in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- DC now offers at-home COVID-19 testing
- US tops 125,000 daily coronavirus infections — a record high
- Maryland renews state travel advisory amid coronavirus case surge
Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.
“The family gatherings are the big problem right now,” Alsobrooks said, conceding the 2020 holiday season will be just as strange as the rest of the year.
She’s urging residents to not host big dinners and parties this winter.
“This is not the time to get relaxed and host those large family gatherings,” she said.
Alsobrooks said there’s noticeable “COVID-fatigue,” and that new cases are climbing, especially among people in their 40s.
“This is not done yet, that’s the bottom line,” Alsobrooks said. “This is still spreading.”
Alsobrooks said, since the county’s theory that the virus is being spread primarily among family and friends, most businesses that were rocked by mandatory closures earlier this year are safe, for now.
“We definitely feel that Phase 2 is the smartest place for us to be right now,” she said. “If we’re finding that the infections are growing in families, then that doesn’t mean that I close down a business. That may mean that what we have to do is adjust some of the gathering sizes, the restrictions on the number of people who can gather in various spaces.”