Baltimore Mayor: COVID-19 Restrictions 'Will Not Change'

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore City will not align with the governor's executive order to lift capacity limits on restaurants, retailers and religious organizations.

"Our approach will not change," Mayor Brandon Scott said at a news conference Friday.

"Baltimore will stay the course," Scott said about measures to fight the coronavirus. "Under the executive order released by my office today, Baltimore's existing local COVID-19 mandates will remain in place."

Read the mayor's executive order issued Friday, March 12, which says that restaurants, shopping centers, bowling alleys, golf courses and other establishments may operate at 25 percent capacity.

Baltimore Health Commissioner Letitia Dzirasa said the city would reevaluate its guidance during the week of March 22.

"As we have consistently stated throughout the pandemic, our strong preference is to have at least four weeks of data before implementing new restrictions or removing old ones," Dzirasa said at the news conference outside City Hall. "We will be on track to see where things stand by early next week, as March 22nd marks four weeks since we implemented the latest changes to phase one restrictions."

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