page_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.
section_title: Government response
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C. / Government response
caption_attribution_description: English: Electronic sign inside a metro station in Washington, DC during the coronavirus pandemic.
context_page_description: The first cases relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C. were reported on March 7, 2020.
context_section_description: On March 11, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency for the District of Columbia. The declaration allowed Bowser to request federal disaster funds and to address price gouging. The order also gave her additional authorities, including the ordering of quarantines without court approval.
  On March 13, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) shut down schools from March 16 to March 31. March 16 was reserved for professional development for teachers in preparation for the implementation of distance learning. The April Spring Break period was moved to March 17 to March 23, after which classes were set to resume online. DCPS-sponsored out-of-state travel for students was suspended until May 1 and staff travel was restricted. During the closure, several schools were set to offer meals to students from 10 am to 2 pm on weekdays.
  On March 16, the District government suspended on-site bar and restaurant service and shut down movie theaters and gyms. Restaurants could still offer food for carryout and delivery, but customers could not dine in.
  On March 20, Mayor Bowser issued an order that prohibited mass gatherings of 50 or more people. The order also prohibited table service and service to standing customers at restaurants, bars and multi-purpose facilities, including seated, fast food and fast casual restaurants. Those businesses could only operate for take-out, "grab-and-go" and delivery operations.
  The Mayor's March 20 order also required nightclubs, health clubs, health spas, massage parlors, and theaters to continue their suspension of operations, which the District's government had initially ordered on March 17. The order further closed to the public all facilities that the District's Department of Recreation operated, including playgrounds, parks, and athletic fields.
  The District of Columbia Medical Reserve Corps (DC MRC), a volunteer organization under the District of Columbia Department of Health, was mobilized to aid emergency workers in responding to the coronavirus pandemic throughout D.C. On March 21, Mayor Bowser called for more volunteers to join the task force.
  On March 24, Mayor Bowser issued an order "to temporarily cease all non-essential business activities, including tour guides and touring services; gyms, health clubs, spas, and massage establishments; theaters, auditoriums, and other places of large gatherings; nightclubs; hair, nail, and tanning salons and barbershops; tattoo parlors; sales not involved in essential services; retail clothing stores; and professional services not devoted to assisting essential business operations."
  Bowser's March 24 order defined "Construction and Building Trades" as "essential businesses", but did not define private construction projects themselves as being "essential". However, The Washington Post reported on March 28 that the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia had designated construction as "essential," along with hospitals, grocery stores, banks and several other types of businesses. The Post reported that each of these jurisdictions had allowed private construction, including home building and commercial developments, to continue.
  The Post reported that John Falcicchio, Bowser's chief of staff, had stated that the District, Maryland and Virginia had agreed to follow the federal guidance declaring construction to be essential work. However, the Post reported that several states, including Pennsylvania and Vermont, had suspended or prohibited all construction work (except for emergencies) as unnecessary during a public health crisis. The Post further reported that the State of Washington's transportation department had suspended work on nearly all of its projects and that Washington's governor had clarified his stay-at-home order to state that commercial and residential construction were generally prohibited "because construction is not considered to be an essential activity."
  The United States Department of Homeland Security's March 28 guidance on essential critical infrastructure lists as "essential" the construction of residential/shelter facili
caption: Electronic sign in a Washington Metro station during the coronavirus pandemic.
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