When will businesses in Ocean City reopen?

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Ocean City, Maryland, is extending its stay-home order. WTOP's Kristi King reports.

Ocean City, Maryland, has extended its emergency stay-at-home order until May 15. The new declaration also prohibits social gatherings of 10 or more people and comes as many stay-at-home orders are expected to remain in effect into May.

The date of the resort community’s emergency order is subject to re-evaluation as needed and would be lifted if Maryland loosened its stay-at-home restrictions statewide.

Using state standards as a guide, City Manager Doug Miller presented to council members and the mayor Tuesday a proposed COVID Recovery Plan for a resumption of summer services.

Based on Maryland’s Roadmap to Recovery establishing a timeline of protocols for allowing various activities to resume, Miller’s plan projects the possibility that:

City restaurants will only offer partial service in May and June;
City bars may not be able to open until mid-to-late summer, if at all;
Some small shops and businesses and outdoor activities may be able to resume in late May or early June under state guidelines;
Some social gatherings, such as church services, and restricted openings of restaurants and bars could occur by late June or July under state guidelines;
Miller hopes that by July, August or September, restaurants will operate at near-normal levels.

More immediately, summer services proposed to begin by Memorial Day weekend include lifeguards in stands, the beach patrol and availability of comfort stations (bathrooms) that might have limited capacity and “Enter At your Own Risk” warning signs.

The proposal suggests “use at your own risk” tram services begin Memorial Day weekend with no distancing requirements, but that masks be required for everyone riding the city bus throughout the summer.

Miller’s proposal was scrutinized heavily by council members. Some wanted more specificity or new details, such as plans to protect or better inform high-risk city residents.

Some of the most vehement criticism focused on the timeline for resumptions of activities based on dates of new coronavirus cases reflecting a flattening of the curve.L

Loosening of restrictions based on the latest data, as interpreted by Miller, project the state may lift stay-at-home orders by mid-to-late May, but some council members argued the city should prepare to begin lifting restrictions by early May.

As established in Ocean City’s previous emergency orders, the boardwalk and all beach areas are and will remain closed.

Residents who live in the city can legally walk their dogs or exercise on the beach only in groups of no more than two adults with their kids.

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