Heather Curtis

WMAL.com

MARYLAND (WMAL) – Saying we can’t afford to waste time, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has enacted a number of new measures to stop the spread of the Coronavirus and gave Marylanders an update on infections and other important information.

Update on cases

Maryland has seen an 88% increase in COVID-19 cases in the last 48 hours Hogan said during a Thursday morning press conference.

A 5-year-old girl in Howard County is among the 107 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the state as of Thursday morning. Hogan said she is the first child in the state to get it.

Wednesday the state reported its first death. It was a prince George’s County resident in his 60s with health problems. Hogan said the man had no known travel history.

“And while this is the first death here in Maryland, unfortunately, it will not be the last,” Hogan said.

As of Thursday morning there were more than 220 cases in the D.C. metro area, 9,500 across the country and more than 220,000 cases around the world.

Update on closures

All closed shopping malls and entertainment venues will close indefinitely at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Any event with more than 10 people is prohibited.

Hogan explained these mandates are necessary because many people ignored requests to not have public gathering of 50 or more people.

“Some people are treating this like a vacation or a spring break with parties and cookouts and large gatherings in some of our parks. Let me be very clear: if you are engaged in this type of activity, you are in violation of state law, and you are endangering the lives of your fellow Marylanders,” Hogan said.

Update on transit restrictions

Hogan said people should get on a MARC, Metro or Amtrak train or any bus unless they have a job essential to the supply chain, are a medical professional or a first responder.

The only people allowed in the BWI terminal are ticketed passengers, employees and those helping disabled passengers.

Trucks will be able to exceed their legal weight limits in order to facilitate the delivery of essential equipment and supplies.

Update on travel restrictions

Hogan is urging everyone to stay home.

“We’re trying to avoid locking down society and we’re trying to keep things as normal as possible,” Hogan said.

When asked what the tipping point is for a shelter in place order he said they are just making decisions as quickly and aggressively as they can.

He said governors across the country are making decisions almost every hour of every day. He said they are taking all the actions they think are right for their states at the time they think they are right to make.

Update on education

Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University and McDaniel College will finish their semesters online. Hogan has asked the University of Maryland system to do the same. Campuses in that system will remain open, but students are discouraged from going to them.

The state is trying to figure out the best course of action for public elementary, middle and high schools after the mandatory two week closures ends.

“That’s not for today’s announcements, but it’s something that lots of people are working on and taking a look at,” Hogan said.

Hogan said there are no further changes as of now, but the state superintendent of schools is talking with local superintendents on a daily basis.

Update on hospitals

Tuesday Hogan enacted an executive order directing the Maryland Department of Health to conduct an immediate assessment to come up with a plan to open closed hospital facilities and take other measures necessary to increase the capacity by an additional 6,000 beds to meet the demand. Through Phase I of the surge plan, Hogan said 900 more beds have already been made available.

Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore City is opening a new floor.

By early April, the health department expects to have an additional 1,400 beds open.

Updates on restaurants

Restaurants, bars, distilleries and wineries will be able to deliver alcohol to people and allow carry-out sales. Hogan said this will hopefully help them get business despite not being able to serve customers on site.

Requests to the federal government

As chairman of the National Governors Association, Hogan will submit five requests to the president, vice president, and leaders in both houses of Congress on behalf of the nation’s governors:

(1) Dedicate at least 50 percent of supplemental funding to the states, including direct funding, and act quickly on waiver requests
(2) Increase access to PPE, masks, test kits, extraction kits, and accelerating the production of life-saving equipment, such as ventilators
(3) Support Title 32 authorization to give governors maximum flexibility for use of the National Guard
(4) Provide guidance on implementation of Defense Production Act to include what health and medical resources Secretary of Health and Human Services Azar is prioritizing under his new authority
(5) Allow more time and flexibility for completion of both the Census and the transition to REAL ID

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