Hogan issues Maryland travel restrictions ahead of holidays, limits gatherings to 10

USA TODAY NETWORK

Gov. Larry Hogan ordered limits on nonessential travel outside of Maryland on Thursday, citing the heightened risk of spreading the coronavirus during holiday gatherings.

Marylanders who travel outside the state and people who visit Maryland will be required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result or quarantine for 10 days, Hogan said.

"You are safer at home for the holidays this year," Hogan said at a news conference in Annapolis.

Travel to Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. is exempt from the order. Commuters who leave and re-enter Maryland on a regular basis are also exempt.

WATCH REPLAY:Gov. Larry Hogan issues new COVID-19 restrictions for Maryland

"It doesn't impact people who are driving to and from the state in the region," Hogan said. "We're talking about flying out of the state or traveling to places that are outside our region."

Maryland's Department of Health also issued a public health advisory advising against gatherings with people outside a single household and limiting gatherings to 10 people.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announces a new round of restrictions effective later this week, including a 10 p.m. closing time for bars and 50% capacity for retail and other businesses, due to rising cases of COVID-19 during a news conference on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, in Annapolis, Md.

Contact tracing efforts have consistently found that small family gatherings are a significant source of new COVID-19 cases.

Hogan on Thursday also announced a new round of economic relief funds, including:

$50 million to help hotels, motels and hospitality businesses
$30 million to add to a relief program for restaurants
$15 million to assist entertainment venues
$5 million to help socially or economically disadvantaged businesses in rural counties
$40 million to boost Temporary Cash Assistance benefits
$40 million to support developmental disability care providers

Hogan also said he will ask state lawmakers to approve a "much larger" relief package when they return to Annapolis in January.

COVID-19 cases continue to rise across Maryland and officials have warned that difficult months are ahead as the general public waits for a new COVID-19 vaccine to become more widely available.

Pandemic news:Hogan activates Maryland National Guard for vaccine effort as state tops 5,000 deaths

More:First doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine start arriving in Maryland

Maryland reported 2,217 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday and 49 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 to 5,152.

Hospitalizations are down slightly but still at some of the highest levels seen during the pandemic. More than 1,700 Marylanders are hospitalized with the virus, according to state data.

Hogan announced Tuesday that he would activate the Maryland National Guard to assist with vaccine distribution. Maryland is set to receive 155,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the first wave of distribution, which will focus on health care workers and the residents and staff of nursing homes.

Madeleine O'Neill covers the Maryland State House for the USA Today Network. She can be reached at moneill@gannett.com or on Twitter at @maddioneill.