Update: The Montgomery County Council has unanimously approved loosening COVID-19 restrictions and laid out a plan for further lifting restrictions as more residents get vaccinated.

Starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, indoor capacity limits increase to 50 people and outdoor crowd limits increase to 100 people; business capacity (excluding restaurants) increases from 25% to 50%; touch exhibits at museums and galleries are allowed to reopen, as are indoor pedestrian concourses with tables and chairs in malls.

At a public hearing on the measures before the vote, many county business owners expressed their support for the changes. Amy Rohrer, president and CEO of the Maryland Hotel Lodging Association, said hotels in the area have seen a 75% decrease in occupancy since last year.

“Ongoing restrictions on gatherings and events, which are a significant driver of room revenue, have resulted in historically low occupancy and revenue losses for hotels,” Rohrer told councilmembers. “Montgomery County hotels hope to win some meeting space business as it slowly and [this] is a step in the right direction.”

Steve Castro, owner of Davidus Cigars, which has three locations in the county, told councilmembers he supports the legislation, but would like to allow for smoking inside his store when the county gets to 60% of residents with at least one dose of the vaccine.

“We have better ventilation system than bars and restaurants,” Castro said. “At 50% capacity we may have four to 10 customers smoking in the store at one time. Unlike other smoking establishments, premium cigar smokers do not share the same cigar.”

Original: Now that half of Montgomery County’s residents have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, the county council is set to vote on lifting some restrictions on Tuesday.

The county reached the milestone over the weekend and expects to have 50% of residents fully vaccinated in the coming weeks. Currently a little over a third of county residents are fully vaccinated, according to county health data. Meanwhile, the county’s COVID-19 case rate sits at half that of the state’s COVID-19 case rate, which is 17 cases per 100,000. Council President Tom Hucker reflected the milestone during a press conference Monday morning.

“These data I believe are a validation of the very difficult decisions we’ve made to keep our public health measures in place, to address racial and social inequity in vaccine distribution, and to reopen responsibly following the guidance of our public health team,” Hucker told reporters.

On Tuesday, county councilmembers will be voting on a proposal from Dr. James Bridgers, the county’s deputy health officer, and the county’s other public health experts to loosen some COVID restrictions as the county meets vaccination distribution milestones.

The proposal would increase indoor capacity limits to 50 people, and outdoor limits to 100 people. The measure would also increase business capacity (excluding restaurants) from 25% to 50%, as well as reopen touch exhibits at museums and galleries, and pedestrian concourses at malls with tables and chairs inside. If the council votes in favor of these changes, they would go into effect immediately.

As the county reaches 60% of residents having received a first dose, 250 people will be allowed in indoor gatherings and there will be no limit to outdoor gatherings, per the public health officers’ plan. This will also mean that businesses, restaurants, and churches will be allowed to have 75% capacity, campsites can accept visitors from outside of the region, conventions and banquets can have 50% capacity, and cigar and hookah bars can permit smoking outdoors.

Once the county reaches 50% of their residents fully vaccinated, the proposal says that whatever restrictions are left in place will be in line with statewide requirements.

“We’re not there yet, we’re still taking a measured approach and looking at the surveillance data,” Bridger told reporters. “We still have about 125,000 pre-registrants who we need to administer doses to.”

Bridgers says while the COVID case numbers are moving in a positive direction, officials will continue to monitor COVID hospitalizations and consider all data as they move forward with loosening some restrictions. The county council will be holding a public hearing on the proposal to lift restrictions on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m..

Elsewhere in Maryland, Howard County has also reached a 50% vaccination rate, but Prince George’s County remains well behind with only about a third of their residents having received a first dose. Over in Virginia, the state is almost at the milestone with a little less than 43% of state residents having received a first dose. In the District, data shows that slightly more than a third of residents have received a first dose or are fully vaccinated.