Dear Community Leaders and Members of Anne Arundel County,
As I’m sure that you all know, yesterday Governor Hogan issued an Executive Order that closed non-essential businesses. We have received many questions about which businesses are deemed essential and which ones need to close.
Here is a link to the State’s guidance on the issue.
Grocery stores, big box home improvement stores, repair services, banks, and many other essential services will remain open. We have been preparing for closure of non-essential businesses in the county, and most of what we identified as essential is included in the Governor’s guidance memo.
Yesterday, the County Executive spoke with our
Anne Arundel Economic Development
Corporation
team about how an order like this might impact businesses. For up-to-date information on how the Governor’s order affects local business, see the EDC’s
newsroom
.
We are ready to distribute the state and federal funds that are made available and our top priority is to ensure that the bulk of the funds reach the families who are being laid off.
Many residents have asked whether or not the Governor ordered us to shelter in place. He did not. However, we urge everyone to remain home as much as possible and employers are expected to promote work-from-home arrangements as much as they can. The Governor’s order allows you to leave your house to conduct essential business and to get exercise. This is the reason that our parks remain open. We want you to stay inside as much as possible, but when you do leave we want you to have access to the open space that will allow you to exercise and breath fresh air while maintaining appropriate levels of social distancing. Playgrounds and some other park facilities are closed, and you are required to avoid congregating in groups of more than 10 inside our parks.
Also, please be sure to read the update, included below, on the potential for delays to curbside collection of trash and recycling in your communities. There are no plans to suspend these services but you may experience delays due to staffing issues.
This is a tough time for all of us. The County Executive thanks you all for your patience and understanding as we work to address this public health crisis. This will likely get more difficult before it gets better. Please do your best to stay healthy and safe.
Best,
James Kitchin
Office of the County Executive
Director, CECS
