For Immediate Release: Monday, December 14, 2020
ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 14, 2020—The Montgomery County Council will introduce, hold a public hearing, and vote on a resolution and Board of Health Regulation that would approve Executive Order 139-20AM2 on the COVID-19 Local Order Amending and Restating Order dated Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. Testimony should be submitted through the Council's website or emailed to County.Council@montgomerycountymd.gov.
If approved by the Council, Executive Order 139-20AM2 would be effective December 15, 2020 at 5 p.m.
Below is a summary of changes from the last Executive Order (122-20AM):
General Housekeeping
Incorporated face covering language and gathering size restrictions from the Amended Health Officer Directive dated November 24, 2020.
Incorporated the Governor’s suspension of in-person dining between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. as stated in his last Executive Order.
Updated citations and links to new declarations of emergency and orders issued by the Governor and the Maryland Department of Health.
Changed the word “patron” to “person” to address questions about whether staff count towards occupancy or capacity numbers.
Face coverings
Amended language regarding face coverings for children and sports so the exception only applies while actively playing sports.
Added an information link to the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance regarding face coverings.
Gatherings
Included non-professional sports and events in the definition of social gathering.
Included that one household does not constitute a social gathering unless more than one household is present. If there is more than one household present, each individual present at the gathering would be counted for the purposes of determining compliance toward the applicable gathering limit.
Childcare
Added language referencing the Maryland State Department of Education's November 19, 2020 childcare waiver letter covering child-adult ratios.
Fitness Centers
Fitness centers must strictly enforce social distancing and the requirement that persons wear face masks.
Food Service Establishments
Except for licensed health care facilities, indoor dining is suspended.
Restaurants are limited to outdoor dining, carry-out, drive-through, or delivery.
Restricted outdoor dining hours to 6 a.m. through 10 p.m. to comply with the Governor’s last Executive Order.
Retail Establishments
Added language explicitly including large retail and grocery stores.
Add language to allow retail establishments to remain open with a limit of one person per 200 square feet of retail space. Any retail establishment that intends to have, and can physically accommodate more than 150 people, must have a Letter of Approval to exceed 150 persons, effective Dec. 23 at 5 p.m. The Letter of Approval request must detail how the establishment will monitor the number of people in the building at any given time; explain how social distancing will be maintained; and include modified staffing strategies to reduce employee exposure. The Letter of Approval request must be submitted by Dec. 21 at 5 p.m.
Sports
Removed automatic approval to exceed gathering limits to accommodate parents, guardians, and immediate family.
Sports now follow social gathering size limitations.
Executive Order 139-20AM2 and the Council staff report can be viewed here.
Documents and information are available at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council.
NOTE: During the Covid-19 state of emergency, the public is not able to be physically present in the Council Hearing Room. Residents who would like to call in to testify at a Council public hearing need to preregister on the Council's web page at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/calendar.html . Once the public hearing sign up request form is submitted and the public hearing list is created, individuals will receive separate confirmation notifications that include the appropriate phone number to call for the public hearing.
Community members also have the option to provide audio, video and written testimony to the Council using a recently developed online testimony form on the Council's web page which can be found at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/PHSignUp.html. The testimony provided with the online option carries the same weight as testimony given at a public hearing. Councilmembers consider all comments as part of their deliberations.
Comments and suggestions are welcome online at http://tinyurl.com/zrbwh5v; via email at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov; by sending regular mail to County Council, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD 20850. For information or to express an opinion call 240-777-7900.
The meeting will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM) on Xfinity channels 6 and 996, RCN channels 6 and 1056; and FiOS channel 30. Also available live via streaming through the Council website at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8, Facebook Live (@MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil or @ConcejodelCondadodeMontgomery), or YouTube (@MoCoCouncilMD).
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Release ID: 20-498