Under Phase Two in Prince George’s County, barbershops and salons will remain open by appointment only.
A new phase also means restaurants are allowed to open both inside and outside, at 50 percent capacity, and places of worship can open with up to 25 percent capacity.
But despite the loosening of restrictions, some aren’t speeding through the green light.
“You can’t just walk right in, the door is locked. We only allow 10 patrons in at one time,” said Savor Food Hall marketing manager Cohen Cosby.
“We’re erring on the side of caution,” Cosby said.
Savor Food Hall’s owner April Richardson Esq. released the following statement:
Savor Food Hall opened in October 2019. It is the first food hall in Prince George's County and the second African American owned food hall in the nation. We have over 7 restaurants and artisan concepts under one roof. We opened to balance the inequities that minorities face in the food industry. My approach to re-opening is slow and cautious as I believe in people over profits. Savor will not enter Phase 2 until I personally feel that the staff and our customers are as protected from COVID-19 as we can be. I am mandating that the food hall continue to exercise the highest level of sanitation, the highest level of food safety and the highest level of precautions because we have a community and our loved ones to protect. My fear is that if Savor opens too soon and we are forced to close due to a spike in COVID-19 many of our restaurants may not be able to weather a second storm. For Savor to survive COVID-19, we ask our community to continue to purchase from the restaurants through online and take out ordering.
Community of Hope AME Church’s Rev. Tony Lee is also taking things slow, his congregation will continue to meet online this weekend.
“Community Of Hope AME Church is committed to the health and safety of the community and its members and will therefore continue to meet online,” he said.
The county’s health department says the data is driving their decisions.
“We are ensuring an adequate period of time between each phase so we can closely monitor the data. The key elements that we are looking at to move from phase 2 to phase 3 include the infection rate, the percent of positive tests, and no major increases in COVID patients in our hospitals,” said spokeswoman Dellia Williams.