'We'll Change Them If It's An Hour Or A Day,' | Gov. Larry Hogan Says Goal Is To Keep Maryland's Economy Open, But Could Need More Restrictive Actions
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) — Gov. Larry Hogan said he will not wait on changing restrictions day-by-day, should the coronavirus pandemic worsen in the coming weeks or even days. "I'm not willing to wait, any time at all, as we see fit, we'll change them if it's an hour or a day, I mean we take action pretty quickly, as we have for the past nine months," he said.
He added he thinks Maryland has responded "probably more aggressively" than any other state in the country. "We're just making those decisions the best we can, every single day," he said.
He said while many states had closed everything back in the spring, Maryland kept 70% of its economy open the entire time. The state's goal is to keep as much of the economy open as possible.
"I don't know what the definition of a lockdown is, we never really had a lockdown. We didn't even have a stay-at-home order, we had stay-at-home advisories, we kept 70% of our economy open the entire time. But might we have to take more restrictive actions over the coming, you know, weeks or months? Absolutely. We might," Gov. Hogan said.
HOGAN NEWS CONFERENCE UPDATES:
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- Gov. Hogan: Maryland's COVID-19 Metrics Remain Better Than Most Of The U.S.
- Maryland Department Of Labor To Beef Up Staffing, Customer Service To Help Unemployed File For Assistance
- Maryland Sets Aside $20M To Stockpile PPE To Prepare For COVID-19 Surge
- Maryland Launches Targeted Wastewater Sampling For COVID-19
On Tuesday, Hogan announced the state would roll back capacity in restaurants to 50% after increasing it back in September. He said Maryland is experiencing widespread community transmission of the virus.
In local jurisdictions, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Prince George's counties have all announced tighter restrictions in the last week.
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