Dear Prince Georgians:

Yesterday I announced that on Monday, June 1, 2020, the Stay-At-Home Order will be lifted for Prince George’s County and we will begin a modified phase one reopening. I made this decision under the advice of public health officials and the data that the County has been monitoring, including continued downward trends in the number of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations.

While this means some restrictions will be lifted for Prince George’s County, I want everyone to know that this virus is still in our community. We must continue to practice social distancing, wear face coverings in all stores and on public transportation, and practice good personal hygiene to ensure we don’t see a spike in our numbers. I’m urging everyone to use good judgment and continue to stay home as much as possible, because if we are cavalier during this reopening, we could be back to square one.

As part of the modified phase one reopening, certain businesses and services will be able to reopen in Prince George’s County with modifications to ensure the health and safety of employees and residents. The modified phase one reopening will include the following:

• Retail stores will be able to open with curbside pickup only.
• Manufacturing will reopen, following CDC guidelines.
• Barbershops and hair salons will be allowed to open for hair services only and by appointment only, with one customer per 200 square feet and use of PPE. This includes face masks and gloves for all employees. Customers must also wear masks, and shops must have appropriate floor markings to create adequate social distancing.
• Restaurants may open with outside seating only. There can be no more than 6 people seated at a table, tables must be at least six feet apart, and no more than 50 people will be allowed at any outdoor restaurant establishment regardless of space. Employees must receive health screenings prior to their shifts, and all employees must wear face coverings.
• Houses of worship can open for gatherings of 10 people or less. Otherwise, they must maintain online services only.
• Farmer’s markets will be able to open for carryout only, maintaining proper social distancing and following CDC guidelines.
• Childcare facilities will be able to open for essential employees and for employees who are returning to work as part of the modified phase one.
• Car washes may open with automated systems, but drivers and passengers must stay inside of the vehicles at all times.

In addition, some restrictions and openings currently in place will remain. Parks, along with their golf courses and tennis courts, will remain open, with appropriate social distancing measures in place. Basketball courts, playgrounds and pools will remain closed. Fitness facilities and nail salons will remain closed. Contact sports such as basketball and soccer are not permitted. Residents and visitors must continue to wear face coverings inside all businesses and on public transportation, and businesses must continue to enforce social distancing.

For County Government, buildings will remain closed to the public and employees will continue to telework. The County Government is still open and operational, adding a number of virtual services in our agencies to ensure that we can still serve our residents. 

Yesterday I was also proud to announce the formation of the Prince George’s Forward Task Force, which is charged with combining new data with expertise to provide well-reasoned recommendations on how the County should deal with the pandemic moving forward. While the Task Force will generate a final report, recommendations will be developed and implemented in real time to maximize the benefit to residents.

The Task Force will be co-chaired by Dr. Charlene Dukes, President of Prince George’s Community College, and William Von Hoene, Senior VP and Chief Strategy Officer of Exelon. Over 40 policy and subject-matter experts from Prince George’s County and across the State of Maryland are currently part of this Task Force. They will have five key focus areas managed by various subcommittees, which include:

• Economic Development Subcommittee: Chaired by Thomas Graham, founder of TH Graham and Associates.
• Education Subcommittee: Chaired by Dr. Darryl Pines, President of the University of Maryland, College Park.
• Health Subcommittee: Chaired by Dr. Joseph Wright, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the University of Maryland Capital Region Health.
• Human Services Subcommittee: Chaired by Rosie Allen-Herring, President and CEO of the United Way of the National Capital Area.
• Government Operations Subcommittee: Chaired by former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.

The Prince George’s Forward Task Force will assist us in managing our reopening and recovery. Our goal is to not just get back to where we were before this pandemic, but to build an even stronger Prince George’s County through our recovery efforts. We will provide updates to the community on this Task Force through our Coronavirus webpage at health.mypgc.us/coronavirus.

Finally, I understand that some of you may be concerned about this reopening. However, I want to stress that this decision was not made lightly, and was based on science and the advice of our public health officials. Last week, we successfully hit our goal of testing more than 9,000 residents per week. We are also seeing a continued downward trend in our total number of positive cases. Last week 1,927 residents tested positive for COVID-19, down from our high which was 2,370 for the week of April 26.

Three weeks ago, over 70 residents a week were dying from COVID-19. Last week, 38 residents died from COVID-19. For hospitalizations, on May 9, we had 262 COVID positive patients in our hospital. We have seen a decrease since then and we have stayed below 200 patients for more than a week. We are committed to being transparent with all the data we use to make our decisions, which is why we have updated our COVID-19 dashboard. You can view all of these data and trends online by clicking here.

Prince Georgians, these last few months have held unbelievable hardship. Unlike other crises, the pandemic hides that hardship, because at one time or another, all of us have felt isolated. However, our County is moving toward a new chapter. As we move toward reopening, it is important to remember that COVID-19 is still with us, but also that it will not have the final say. We must continue to stay vigilant and look out for each other, because together, we can overcome this crisis and build a stronger Prince George’s.

Yours in service,
Angela Alsobrooks
Prince George’s County Executive