As Maryland’s coronavirus hospitalizations have declined for 14 consecutive days, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that he intends to continue with the second phase of reopening in some parts of the state.

On Friday at 5 p.m. restaurants may start indoor dining at 50% capacity with tables spaced six feet apart. Hogan is advising those who are at high risk of contracting the virus to opt for outdoor dining.

“I’ll be honest, from my personal standpoint, I am over 60, I’m a cancer survivor so I check a few boxes that are in the vulnerable population,” he told reporters. “I would not feel comfortable dining inside and if I were going to a restaurant I would prefer to sit outside.”

Outdoor amusement parks and rides may also reopen with health restrictions.

On June 19th at 5 p.m. gyms, casinos, malls, and arcades will also be allowed to reopen with strict safety protocols.

Karen Salmon, state superintendent of schools, also announced that summer school courses can begin with small classes of 10 to 15 students. The state department of education is asking schools to focus on in-person summer school instruction on students that have been most affected by the pandemic and who have struggled with distance learning.

“As we move forward, state and local education leaders must recognize that long-standing gaps in educational opportunity and access have been further exposed and widened by the COVID-19 crisis,” Salmon said. “We want to ensure that students most impacted receive intense focus and priority in our recovery efforts.”

Non-public schools are also encouraged to start summer school under similar capacity parameters. Salmon is asking these schools to develop guidelines and a model of how they will continue teaching while following safety protocols of the state.

In the new phase, high school athletic teams may resume outdoor practices with the same guidelines as youth sports activities. The department is encouraging schools to have outdoor commencement ceremonies using social distancing guidelines. To help parents that have to return to work, the state is permitting child care providers to reopen with at most 15 children per room. For students who receive meals from schools, the U.S. Department of Agriculture extended meal waivers through the end of the summer.

Montgomery and Prince George’s counties’ officials say they plan to begin phase two of reopening within the next few weeks. Prince George’s County’s Angela Alsobrooks will be making an announcement Thursday morning about her phase two reopening plans. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich tweeted Wednesday that he plans to start phase two next week.

Hogan emphasized Wednesday that while the state continues to reopen, the virus hasn’t gone away. And he credits the restrictions that have been in place for controlling the severity of the coronavirus.

“Without taking aggressive action we could have had more than 300,000 infections and 12,500 deaths in Maryland at this point in time,” Hogan said. “But because of the early and aggressive actions taken we have not only flattened the curve, we have crushed that curve.”

According to state health department data, there are more than 59,000 confirmed cases and more than 2,700 deaths. Fran Phillips, deputy director of the state’s department of health, said residents should continue to take precautions to avoid a second wave of infections and hospitalizations.

“We’re asking Marylanders to again continue to use common sense and social distancing,” she said.

Phillips said the department will be advising restaurants and gyms on how to reopen while maintaining social distancing measures and safety conditions for their employees and customers.

After almost two weeks of protests brought large crowds across the state together in violation of social distancing measures, Hogan and Phillips are encouraging those who were at the protests to get tested. The state department of health is opening additional testing sites for those who are asymptomatic. It could take a few weeks for the state to see a possible spike in new cases or hospitalizations following the protests.