Largo, Maryland – (Thursday, June 29, 2020) – Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced today that the County will move from a modified phase two to a full phase two reopening on June 29, 2020 at 5:00 PM. This decision was made 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 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations.

“We remain cautiously optimistic as we move forward with our phased reopening and recovery of Prince George’s County,” said Alsobrooks. “I am encouraged by the progress that we have made together as a community to slow the spread of this virus, and I know that if we all continue to take certain precautions, we can continue to contain the spread of COVID-19 in this next phase of our reopening.”

As part of the full phase two reopening, residents are still encouraged to exercise caution and limit non-essential trips. A number of non-essential businesses and services will be able to reopen with modifications that protect the health and safety of employees and residents, including the following:

• Gyms, fitness centers and other indoor physical activities may reopen with 1 patron per 200 square feet of fitness space, not to exceed 50% capacity. All CDC guidelines and safety precautions must be adhered to.
• Some recreational establishments may now reopen with capacity limits, CDC guidelines and other requirements in place. Casinos, bingo halls, bowling alleys, pool halls, indoor skating rinks and miniature golf may reopen at 50% capacity. Amusement parks may reopen at 40% capacity.
• Social and fraternal clubs may reopen at 50% capacity, with safeguards in place.
• Retail stores will be able to expand to 1 person per 100 square feet allowed in store, not to exceed 50% percent capacity.
• Shopping malls may reopen up to 50% capacity, with safeguards and physical distancing in place.
• All personal services, including barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, tattoo parlors, massage parlors, and spas, are allowed at 50% capacity and by appointment only. The same safety and health guidelines remain in place from the modified phase two reopening for these businesses.
• Houses of worship may expand indoor services to 50% capacity, with safeguards and physical distancing requirements in place.
• Childcare facilities can reopen for all children with health and safety precautions. In addition to the use of masks and gloves for all employees and having appropriate social distancing and disinfecting in place, they must also have a schedule for staggered drop offs and pickups, conduct daily symptom checks and have a strict dismissal policy in the event of positive cases.
• Outdoor community pools, both public and private, may now expand to 50% capacity, but must practice proper social distancing guidelines. Indoor pools will remain closed.
• Car washes are now allowed to perform internal cleaning, with all employees wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other safeguards in place.
• Outdoor youth sports may expand to no more than 100 people in any area, still in small groups with no more than 9 children and 1 coach per group.

Finally, large gatherings may resume with capacity limits, one person/family unit per 200 square feet up to a maximum of 100 persons. Venues for large gatherings must adhere to physical distancing requirements and CDC guidelines.

For County Government, buildings will remain closed to the public. 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.

Based on the County’s data, the County Health Department believes it is safe to move to a full phase two. For the week ending June 13, there were 27 deaths with an average of 3.9 deaths per day. Deaths per week have decreased by 64% from our high of 74 deaths per week in April.

The County hospitalization rate is also declining. In early May, County hospitals had 244 COVID-19 inpatients, on average, per day. That has since decreased for seven consecutive weeks to 80 patients so far this week. That is a 67% decrease from the highest average. The County has also experienced a decrease in med/surgery bed use, as well as the number of patients with COVID-19 in hospital ICUs, which is now almost half what it was in early June. We have 58.8% of med/surgery beds available and 48.1% of ICU beds available, the County’s target is to maintain at least 30% available bed capacity.

The County has also increased its testing capacity, now operating four Health Department sponsored testing sites. The City of Hyattsville is operating a fifth testing site with supplies from the Prince George’s County Health Department. Countywide, more than 9,000 residents are tested per week, with the capacity to test more residents, as needed. The positivity rate, a marker for how effective our testing efforts are, among Prince Georgians has declined from a high of 43.1% in April, down to 7.8%. The Health Department is now offering free testing without appointments at all of its testing locations.

All of the data used to make decisions on reopening is available to the public through the County’s COVID-19 dashboard, available online here. For the latest COVID-19 updates and resources in Prince George’s County, please visit mypgc.us.