OCEAN CITY — There appears to be continued hope for an eventual easing of some of the restrictions in place and a phased reopening of the Ocean City marketplace, but when that starts will likely be dictated by the governor and state directives.
Last Thursday, the Mayor and Council began debating the potential phased-in reopening and a return to some semblance of normalcy in the face of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. The following day last Friday, Gov. Larry Hogan addressed the reopening issue and laid out some milestones that must be reached before any easing of restrictions and directives currently in place can even be considered.
Hogan pointed to a couple of key statistical benchmarks that should be reached before any consideration is given to easing the restrictions and gradually reopening the state and local economies. Hogan specifically pointed to the numbers of hospitalizations, coronavirus patients in intensive care and confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the state.
The governor said only if and when those key indicators showed declines for 14 straight days would any early phases of reopening be considered. However, as of Tuesday, those three key statistics continued to increase, albeit by rates considerably lower percentage-wise then in prior days and weeks. In short, the key numbers appear to be trending in the right direction, but not yet to the point to start the clock ticking on the 14-day window prescribed by Hogan last week. President Trump’s guidelines say after two weeks after downward data states should enter the first phase of reopening, including some retail store openings with crowds not to exceed 10 and schools remaining closed.
During Monday’s meeting, the Mayor and Council renewed an informal debate about potential timelines for reopening the local economy. Before that discussion, State Senator Mary Beth Carozza (R-38) weighed in on some of the initiatives she was been working to get needed financial assistance and resources to small businesses and individuals in her district and around the state. Carozza also addressed the reopening issue and said while there appears to be a long way to go still in terms of flattening the curve, there have been discussions at the state level about relaxing some of the restrictions and declarations.
“Right after Easter, we saw the focus pivot to working with our small business operators on some recommendations on what a safe, phased-in recovery looks like,” she said. “I know that there have been discussions with the Mayor and Council as well as the Chamber of Commerce and the HMRA to develop recommendations and package them in a way they can be helpful to Governor Hogan. That’s where the focus has been. I want to partner with each on of you and make sure we’re doing everything we can for a safe and healthy economic recovery.”
After last week’s Mayor and Council meeting on Thursday, Mayor Rick Meehan had a scheduled call with Hogan reportedly to discuss the ongoing pandemic and presumably some at least loose timeline for when reopening could be considered. On Monday, Councilman Matt James asked Meehan for an update on that conversation.
“After the phone call with the governor last week, do you have any idea where we’re heading, almost a timeline?” he said. “I’ve been getting a lot of questions from business owners and property owners about a re-opening plan and I was hoping you can shed a little light on that. Many of our current declarations are in place until April 30. Do we extend them or just let them run out?”
Meehan said he did have a conversation with Hogan last week, but the topics were largely conceptual and did not focus on any key dates. Hogan is expected to address the reopening issue later this week.
“I didn’t get any definitive timeline from the governor,” he said. “I think we’ll get an update on some of those timelines late this week. That will really be beneficial to us as far as making the next move. There are some decisions to be made.”
Meehan did say he broached issues germane to Ocean City during his conversation with the governor last week.
“I have talked to him about our timeline and our season and some of the things we’re concerned about and the things we need to do to get Ocean City up and running again,” he said. “I expect him to announce some things that will be relevant to us. After that, we need to reconvene and look at where we are to make a better projection and what decisions need to be made.”
Meehan acknowledged the frustrations shared between the business community, local residents, non-resident property owners and the town’s elected officials.
“I know this is difficult,” he said. “It’s a moving target. I know it’s a cliché, but we don’t have a roadmap. I think by the end of this week will be a better time to give some answers.”
Councilman John Gehrig, who last week was a fierce proponent for beginning the planning stages for reopening when the time is right, on Monday picked up where he left off.
“I know we’re all on the same page,” he said. “We all want to open safely and quickly. I know I’m probably pushing harder than anyone to do the planning sooner rather than later.”
Gehrig pointed to some of the key indicators referenced by Hogan last week as building blocks for recovery and said they were trending in the right direction. For example, while the number of hospitalizations, the number of patients in ICU wards and the number of deaths continued to increase this week, there appears to be a leveling off to some degree. It’s important to note statistics can be interpreted in different ways, but Gehrig said some of the numbers appear hopeful.
“We could be approaching the midway point for some of these guidelines,” he said. “Some of the numbers that have been indicated by the federal and state governments are looking favorable and trending in the right direction. Of course, these numbers can be blown up at any given time, so we have to be careful, but all of these pieces are frankly coming into place.”
Gehrig said a recurring theme for many on various social media platforms is that the coronavirus is not going to abate in time to save some semblance of a summer season for Ocean City and said the town’s message should be to the contrary.
“After last week, when you look at social media, some of our residents do not think we’re going to reopen,” he said. “We need to let them know the governor has already said he’s going to open and the mayor has said we’re going to open at some point when it’s safe to do so. We’re going to have to have a plan that includes living with COVID-19 and what that’s going to mean for our high-risk populace.”
For his part, Meehan agreed with many of Gehrig’s sentiments and said the planning stages of reopening could happen sooner rather than later.
“We know a lot more today then we did 40 days ago,” he said. “Some of the things we’ve done with social distancing to combat that curve are starting to be successful. In the short term, the country has learned a lot and there’s a lot more to learn, but I think we’re in a better position today. Hopefully, that is what we’ll consider at the end of the week and into next week.”
Meehan said there were a lot of moving parts working in concert on a phased opening plan if and when the time is right.
“I want to thank the staff for putting together some steps we’re going to have to take and I want to thank the business community for doing many of the same things,” he said. “They are also preparing for the time, hopefully in the very near future, when we can open back up. We’re going to do it together and we’re going to do it smart. The time will come very soon when we have to address some of these issues and the economics of reopening our city.”
