This afternoon, Circuit Court Judge William Mulford issued a Temporary Restraining Order against Anne Arundel County Executive Pittman specific to his recent Executive Order to close all restaurants in the County to indoor or outdoor dining. The request for relief was filed last night by an Atorney representing four area restaurants. Per the Judge’s Order, restaurants can continue operating as they were until at least December 28, 2020 when a final hearing will be held.
In response, County Executive Steuart Pittman released the following statement,
We are disappointed in Judge Mulford’s ruling granting a temporary restraining order of our COVID restrictions on in person dining. We believe the science from public health experts is clear and it shows that taking actions to limit situations where people gather without masks will prevent the spread of this virus and ultimately save lives. We look forward to a full hearing on the merits of the case and in the meantime are discussing other options to protect the health of our residents by limiting community spread and flattening the ongoing COVID surge in our county.
Until that hearing, the county’s restaurant restrictions revert to those found in Executive Order #38, which limits indoor dining capacity to 25 percent of maximum capacity and outdoor dining at 75 percent of the indoor maximum seating. All other provisions of Executive Order #39 will take effect at 5:00 p.m. tonight as planned.
