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Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Wednesday that the District could enter "phase two" of reopening as soon as Monday.

The move to further business and community reopenings is due to declining novel coronavirus cases being reported as well as hospital capacity holding below 80%. Not all of the previously announced metrics for moving to phase two are met however. The Mayor shared that contract tracing, while ramping up, is still focused primarily on older cases.

For physicians and medical practices, "phase two" is similar to "phase one". You can see the entire recommendation here, but a few key points include:

• As capacity allows, all surgeries and procedures may be performed as long as proper clinical safety is possible (PPE supplies adequate, for example).
• Patients and visitors must notify facilities if they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 within 14 days of their visit
• All patients must wear face coverings and an office may supply a patient with a cover if they do not have one
• Staff should wear surgical facemasks at all times
• PPE should be changed between patients

[As a reminder, MSDC and Action PPE can help you acquire your needed PPE here]

Some of the changes District residents may see next week include restaurants offering limited indoor dining, playgrounds and libraries semi-opened for visitors, and gyms/fitness centers reopening with 200 square feet of space between visitors.