DC’s State Of Emergency To Be Extended Until December 31

The District’s state of emergency will be extended until the end of the year to help maintain key parts of the city’s coronavirus response, officials say.

DC’s state of emergency was supposed to last until Friday, October 9, but Mayor Bowser has announced she will now be extending it until December 31. According to Bowser, the extension is crucial to maintaining certain parts of the District’s coronavirus response program.

“The spread of COVID-19 remains an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of District residents that requires the continued need for declarations of a public emergency and public health emergency,” reads the order. “Without continued extraordinary measures authorized under a state of emergency, as well as community compliance with preventative measures, the progress the District has made in protecting the health, safety and welfare would be threatened and likely reversed.”

The mayoral order also makes a few changes to DC’s Phase 2 reopening status.These include the opening of public indoor pools, outdoor dining still being allowed and the fees for those permits will being waived. There has been no change to indoor dining limitations, however. In addition, the District Department of Employment Services will issue pubic health emergency grants to help train DC residents to support local organizations such as educational institutions and businesses among others in the coronavirus response.

District officials will also require individuals who use public services in DC government facilities to provide information, such as a name and phone number, for the sole purpose of contact tracing. All information will be destroyed after 30 days according to the order.

See also: A New Outdoor Pop-Up Lounge Is Coming To Kennedy Center This Weekend

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