Hogan: COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted; Maryland ready to vaccinate adolescents
Gov. Larry Hogan is lifting COVID-19 restrictions so that all businesses can reopen starting Saturday, and Maryland is ready to vaccinate adolescents.
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The governor's announcements come as the state recorded as many as 454,271 COVID-19 cases, as of Wednesday, since the pandemic began, and 8,687 people have died.
So far, the state has administered more than 5.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and more than 2.4 million people have been fully vaccinated.
The governor said 86% of all Marylanders over 65 have been vaccinated, and 65.4% of all Marylanders 18 and older have been vaccinated.
"We truly are closer than ever to getting back to a sense of normalcy, but once again, the fasted way to get rid of our damn masks and to put this pandemic behind us once and for all is for every single eligible Marylander to get vaccinated as quickly as possible," Hogan said. "Those who are not vaccinated continue to slow our health and economic recovery efforts, and they also continue to be at risk for infection, hospitalization and death."
Local health departments across Maryland are preparing to give children their shots.
The governor said the state has expanded to 665 pharmacies and 271 doctors offices, the Maryland Vaccine Equity Task Force has completed more than 350 missions, and 13 mass vaccination sites are open and fully operational with direct scheduling and no-appointment opportunities available.
Watch the governor's news conference in its entirety:
Governor lifts COVID-19 restrictions; masks still required indoors
"As a direct result of our incredibly fast pace of vaccinations and subsequent declines in hospitalizations, positive rate, transmission rate and case rates, today, we are able to take additional actions on our return to normalcy," Hogan said.
INDOOR & OUTDOOR VENUES: Effective Saturday, indoor and outdoor venues may resume normal operations. All remaining capacity restrictions will be lifted on outdoor entertainment, art and sports venues as well as all indoor entertainment venues and conventions.
INDOOR & OUTDOOR DINING: Effective Saturday, restaurants and bars may resume normal operations. All remaining restrictions will be lifted on both indoor and outdoor dining.
"Effectively, as of Saturday, every business in Maryland will be able to open at 100% with no restrictions," Hogan said.
CRUISE TERMINAL: Effective Saturday, the cruise terminal in Baltimore City will reopen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working directly with ports and cruise industry representatives to prepare for their safe return to business, the governor said.
INDOOR MASK REQUIREMENT: The only thing that will remain in place is the indoor mask requirement, which the governor said can be lifted once the state reaches a federal goal of at least 70% of Marylanders receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
WORK SEARCH REQUIREMENTS: The governor said he has directed the Maryland Department of Labor to work with the federal administration to begin the process of reinstating work-search requirements.
State ready to begin vaccinating adolescents
The governor announced that COVID-19 vaccine eligibility for Marylanders age 12 to 15 will open Thursday.
That means immediate availability at the 11 state mass vaccination sites that have the Pfizer vaccine at about 300 pharmacies and hospital-based clinics. Health officials said the state is working to get more vaccines available to pediatricians.
"And we know that this is important because families have said time and again that they would want to get vaccines at their pediatricians' offices," said Dr. Jinlene Chan, Maryland's deputy secretary of public health services.
Getting more kids under 16 vaccinated will add another layer to the recovery effort that the governor stressed is all about a "return to normal."
Hogan said 65% of all adults are vaccinated now and he's hoping for 70% by Memorial Day weekend.
The state has already added a new search function on the vaccine finder website— where families can find specific locations for 12 to 15-year-old's vaccinations.
When asked about hesitancy, Chan talked about how the proportion of teens and kids with COVID-19 infections has been increasing and the need to protect them, and others.
"Especially as we race now against the ongoing spread of these new variants that are more infectious, it's is more important than ever to get everyone vaccinated,” she said.
"I am not just a physician, I am also a parent, and my son falls into this age category, and we've been having conversations with him about getting vaccinated, what the importance of it is and what to expect and why it is important for him so that he can get back to some of the activities he missed out on last year, like summer camps and hanging out with friends and other activities," Chan added. "This is really what we are vaccinating for, to get back to a normal that our kids and our families deserve."
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 12 to 15.
Anne Arundel County is launching a big vaccination push toward teens this week, offering COVID-19 shots at four different high schools each Wednesday for the next three weeks.
