Baltimore will lift its one-hour limit on restaurant visits starting next week, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced Wednesday.

Scott said the limit, instituted as part of an effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in public spaces, will be removed thanks to improving coronavirus metrics. He noted Baltimore now has the lowest seven-day positivity rate in the state, at 3.1%.

The limit will be lifted at 6 a.m. Monday, said Stefanie Mavronis, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office. Restaurants will still be required to maintain a sign-in/sign-out sheet for guests, which helps to assist with contact tracing.

Still, the mayor urged continued adherence to Covid-19 precautions as the city battles the virus.

“We’re very encouraged,” he said at a news conference Wednesday outside City Hall, “but we also want to remind people that we’re still going to be cautious. We’re still in a pandemic.”

The time limit on dining, which requires sit-in restaurant patrons to finish their meals within one hour…