Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday afternoon that the state’s stay-at-home order will expire Friday at 5 p.m. This will begin phase one of his three-part plan to reopen the state, but it will not apply to Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

The trigger for the first phase, or the so-called “safer at home public health advisory,” was a 14-day “decline and plateauing numbers,” Hogan said. While confirmed cases continue to increase, the state has seen a downward trend of hospitalizations, and deaths per day have also declined slightly in the past two weeks, according to state health department data.

Hogan says the length of phase one will depend on how Marylanders adhere to social distancing measures and use of face coverings while in public.

“If everybody goes crazy and does things that are unsafe, we’re going to balloon back up and slow down the process,” Hogan said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “If everybody responds responsibly, we’ll be able to move forward quicker.”

The first phase allows some businesses like retail stores, manufacturers, car washes, pet groomers, and barbershops to reopen at 50% capacity. Indoor religious services can also resume, but are limited to 50% capacity as well.

Hogan says reopening these businesses is a step in the right direction.

“It does not mean that we are safe or that this crisis is over,” Hogan said. “Low risk does not mean no risk.”

State health department officials are asking residents to continue wearing masks inside businesses and other public places, maintain physical distancing, limit gatherings to 10 people or fewer, wash hands, and sanitize often. Those who are vulnerable to contracting the virus should also try to remain at home during this time, Hogan said.

The first phase also gives counties discretion in deciding when they will reopen.

County executives from Prince George’s and Montgomery counties have already said they will not reopen until they see a 14-day decline in hospitalizations and deaths.

Based on my public health officer’s guidance and expertise, we will open once it’s safe. We appreciate the Governor acknowledging that conditions in some parts of the state, including Montgomery County, are different than in less urban parts of Maryland.

— Marc Elrich (@Marc_Elrich) May 13, 2020

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman wrote in a Tweet Wednesday that he would review Hogan’s phase one plan and decide which parts to implement in his county.

Hogan received pushback on his plan from some groups. Christine Ross, president of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber is concerned about how the “patchwork approach” to reopening might affect businesses.

“We are grateful that the day has come to begin moving into the first phase of economic recovery,” Ross wrote in a statement. “We are concerned, however, about the emerging ‘different rules for different jurisdictions’ method to reopening and what it will mean for employers who run businesses in multiple parts of the state.”

Others, like Tim Walters, co-founder of Reopen Maryland, a group that has staged protests to reopen parts of the state, say Hogan’s phased reopening is not enough.

“We are not backing off,” Walter said in a video on the group’s Facebook page. “We will not idly stand by and allow this to exist.”

The group is expected to hold a third protest Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Annapolis.