Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R ) said Thursday this week “would be the worst possible time” to lift coronavirus restrictions.

“Here in the Washington-Baltimore corridor we’re still heading up that curve … it would really be the worst possible time to put our people out there and endanger them,” Hogan said on the “Today” show.

Hogan’s comments come as the White House and state leaders begin talks about reopening the economy and scaling back social distancing guidelines. The governor said that while he is already working an a plan to reopen his state, more issues need to be addressed before that can happen.

ADVERTISEMENT

“What we’re all going to need before we get people back to work is more testing, more ability to do contact tracing, we’re going to need to make sure we have the hospital capabilities and all the [personal protective equipment],” Hogan said Thursday.

Maryland has reported 10,784 cases and 349 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, and has added more than 500 new cases to their count each day for over a week. Hogan has been ramping up restrictions this week, adding guidelines that require residents to wear face masks at grocery stores and on public transit.

Hogan also said on Sunday that the state is a ways away from lifting those guidelines.

“This is going to be one of our most dangerous times every, this weekend, and over the next week or so,” Hogan said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “This would be the worst possible time for people to be violating executive orders and to be congregating together.”