Bowser Announces Possible Date For Reopening DC

WASHINGTON, DC — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed Thursday the District could be ready for a phased reopening as soon as Friday, May 29, provided the city continues to meet metrics laid out by the D.C. Department of Health.

"We are going to monitor throughout the weekend the trends that we see and if those trends hold, next week, by the end of next week, we will be able to communicate the start of our phased reopening," Bowser said, during a Thursday morning press briefing. "That means everybody needs to pay attention and get ready, if we are able to have a phase reopening, so that we can do it safely."

If D.C. were to reopen on May 29, it would be about a week before June 8, the day when Bowser's current stay-at-home order expires.

This past Monday, Bowser outlined the criteria laid out by D.C. Health she would be using to decide when to reopen the city. The criteria included a 14-day decrease in community spread and the transmission rate in the city remaining under one for more than a period of three days. She said that as of Thursday morning, the city had achieved an 11-day decrease in community spread and the transmission rate has been below one for nine days straight.

Regarding the other criteria, Bowser said the District continues to maintain a hospital capacity of under 80 percent — which she described as a very conservative measure — and that it will soon have the contact tracing staffing it needs to handle any surge of new cases that may come about due to the phased reopening.

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"We are close to where we need to be with contact tracing to be able to meet the goals laid out by the Department of Health," she said. "That is, once we have tested someone that we quickly have the ability with our contact tracers to contact them and their close contacts within two days. We're getting there with that as well. In fact, we think that our first group of hired tracers will be fully trained by June 1, adding to the department's capacity."

Bowser made the phased reopening announcement following a presentation by representatives of the ReOpen D.C. Advisory Group, which outlined their recommendations for a phased reopening of the District.

Former Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff, who led the advisory group with Ambassador Susan Rice, provided details on the different stages of the reopening.

"Stage One is characterized by decreased community spread, allowing for low-key activities with strong safeguards to resume for less than 10 people and continuing to encourage telework," Chertoff said. "Stage Two is when we get to the point of merely localized community spread and at that point we would allow additional activities to resume with strong safeguards, including limiting gatherings to 50 or fewer and still recommending telework. Stage Three is characterized by sporadic community spread, which would allow at that point for higher risk activities to resume with gatherings up to 250 or fewer residents and telework should still be encouraged or travel could resume. Stage Four is ultimately what we all hope for and long for, which is a vaccine that makes this problem totally recede."

On Friday, District officials will release a reopening checklist for D.C. businesses, so they will have a greater understanding of the requirements the will need to meet regarding their employees and customers during the phased reopening.

"Our success depends upon the commitment of individuals, employers, and venues to adopt these rigorous safeguards to reduce risk even as we move stage to stage," Chertoff said, adding that the restrictions would remain in force through the first three stages in order to protect personal and community health.

The restrictions include District residents continuing to maintain physical distancing, wearing masks in public, and following sanitation practices designed to inhibit the spread of COVID-19, the illness associated with the new coronavirus.

In Stage One, the advisory group recommended that personal services, such as hair salons and barbershops, could operate with strict capacity restrictions, said Andrew Trueblood, director of the D.C. Office of Planning. Also, restaurants could remain open for curbside pickup and delivery. In addition, some restaurants would be able to provide outdoor dining, provided safeguards are in place.

In Stage Two, Trueblood said, restaurants, personal services and retail outlets could be allowed to open up indoor spaces with restrictions, which then could be lessened further in Stage Three. While teleworking is strongly encouraged through the first two stages, office spaces would be able to reopen with capacity limits beginning in Stage Two. Venues such as bars and restaurants would be able to open within strict limits in Stage Three.

"The advisory group recognized that education and childcare is a critical component of reopening and for the success of our children," Trueblood said. "Stage One is recommended to include limited activities and offerings such as childcare with restrictions and prioritized for children of site-critical and essential workers, and curbside library service."

The advisory group also recommended allowing summer camps and museums to reopen with restrictions in Stage Two and relaxing those restrictions slightly in Stage Three. For K-12 and adult education, the advisory group recommended starting a phased reopening in Stage Two, prioritizing those who would benefit most from in-person instruction.

Even though some of D.C. Health's criteria will be met before May 29, Bowser said any action toward a phased reopening would need to be made via a Mayor's Order. She will provide an update on the May 29 reopening next Tuesday.

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