Cecil County County will follow Stage One of Hogan’s Roadmap to Recovery

ELKTON, MD. – In a Facebook LIVE press conference this afternoon, County Executive Alan McCarthy, along with Health Officer Lauren Levy, announced that Cecil County will move forward with Stage One of Governor Hogan’s Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery, a phased plan for reopening the state post-COVID-19.

Under the Governor’s Executive Orders announced late Wednesday, the stay-at-home order has been lifted and a “Safer At Home” advisory put in place to continue to cut down on the spread of the coronavirus in public places. The order also includes the gradual reopening of retail, manufacturing, houses of worship, barber shops and hair salons with social distancing and occupancy limitations.

In Stage One of his plan, Governor Hogan also delegated power to individual jurisdictions, at the county level, to make decisions regarding the timing of re-openings. However, while the county can be more restrictive than the state, the county executive cannot remove restrictions that the Governor retains in place.

“After consulting with our health officer yesterday, I am very happy to report that I have absolutely no plans for Cecil County to be more restrictive in our plans for re-opening,” County Executive McCarthy stated at his press conference.

“While this is a time to celebrate, I remind you that it is but the first phase of a gradual reopening of all businesses in Cecil County. I must share my concern and caution to all of our citizens,” he continued. “We have managed to reach this point by collectively battling COVID-19. We must continue to comply with state and local health protocols to be able to move to the next phase, thereby opening our local economy even more.”

The county executive encouraged the public to continue to practice safe social distancing, exercise proper hand-washing hygiene, and wear face masks in public.

“I have full confidence that we will manage this phased reopening well and move forward allowing more businesses to open; therefore, moving us further along in our effort to get everyone back to work and our state and local economies on the mend,” he concluded.