Statement From MoCo Executive Marc Elrich on Governor Hogan’s Phase 3 Announcement

Today’s announcement that the state is moving to Phase 3 on Friday has again taken us by surprise. Although I want to see our community open as quickly as possible, we must also proceed with care. We will continue to follow the data and science in Montgomery County, as we have done every day throughout the pandemic. We are averaging about 70 cases per day, and yesterday we had 97 cases– those numbers are concerning because they’re higher than they were a few weeks ago. Because we did not receive advance notice of the Governor’s decision, we need to review the Governor’s order to determine the best way forward. We will do this over the next few days to determine the best way to move forward for our residents and businesses while protecting the public health.