Baltimore City's stay-at-home order is being amended Wednesday to permit curbside retail. Baltimore Mayor Jack Young made the announcement Tuesday afternoon indicating stores and restaurants are allowed to have a curbside pickup area for customers.
Some businesses will have to share pick up zones on streets where there are multiple shops and restaurants. Fitness centers will stay closed although outdoor classes with less than ten can resume. Lester Davis, a spokesman for Mayor Young said in a response to an email that churches/religious institutions, spas, hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, massage parlors, and tattoo parlors will remain closed until further notice.
With a $1.5 million investment from Baltimore City’s COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Initiative, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced that Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) and Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) will lead Design for Distancing: Reopening Baltimore Together, a tactical urban design initiative intended to help small businesses reopen without compromising public health. The effort will encompass selected districts across the city, including current and former Main Streets, Retail Business Licensing Districts (RBLD), and Arts & Entertainment Districts identified as priority areas for the Small Business Assistance Fund grant program.
Baltimore City will be working in partnership with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) experts and local stakeholders as well.
Meanwhile, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball says they are entering phase one of plan to reopen the county on Friday. Hair salons and barbershops will be allowed to operate at half capacity and customers must make an appointment. Other business that offer beauty services such as spas and nail salons will remain closed. Worship centers can have ten people inside and put to 250 people outside with social distancing guidelines in place.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski allowed Phase 1 reopening last week. Retail stores reopened Friday for in-store retail with a maximum capacity of 10, including staff. Barber shops and hair salons reopened with a maximum capacity of 10, including staff--operating by appointment only and with appropriate health and safety guidelines. Shopping malls must continue to stay closed except for retail establishments that can be accessed from the outside. Other personal services establishments In Baltimore County must remain closed until further notice. Also restriction on gatherings of more than 10 remain in place, either indoors or outdoors. Religious institutions may hold drive-through or drive-in services, as some have done.
“With significant progress in expanding testing and PPE, I’m confident that Baltimore County is ready to take these next steps, and do so in a safe manner that protects the health of our residents,” Olszewski said. “While these steps are important, we’re not out of the woods yet, and I urge all residents to continue practicing social distancing to limit the spread of this virus.”