Heather Curtis
MARYLAND (WMAL) – Maryland’s governor is cracking down on social distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19 as the cases continue to spike, and a Charles County man hosted a bonfire with more than 60 people last Friday. Monday Gov. Larry Hogan signed an executive order that puts a stay-at-home order into effect at 8 p.m. Monday. To read the whole order, click here.
“This is a deadly public health crisis. We are no longer asking or suggesting that Marylanders stay home, we are directing them to do so,” Hogan said Monday morning.
Hogan added people can still go out for essential business including work, grocery shopping, to the pharmacy, or to get urgent medical care. Marylanders can also walk their dogs and spend time outdoors so long as they’re practicing social distancing. Marylanders are not supposed to travel out of the state, and anyone who has is asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. The quarantine is not required for essential employees who have letters from their employers or the government allowing them to travel to work.
“People are not locked in their homes. We’re just telling people that they need to stay in their homes except for essential and necessary things,” Hogan said.
The order comes after what Hogan called a dramatic increase in cases over the weekend. As of Monday morning there were 1,413 cases and 15 deaths. He stressed a disturbing statistic: the region went from 0 to 1,000 cases in three weeks and then from 1,000 to 2,000 in three days. Hogan is implementing a surge plan to add more beds to hospitals but said a major outbreak could cripple the state’s medical system. He told Fox News Sunday he thinks in two weeks Maryland will look like New York.
“Unfortunately, we are only at the beginning of this crisis, and it is going to get considerably worse before it gets better, and I realize that this is incredibly difficult on everyone in our state, but I want people to know that we have been through difficult challenges before and that we are going to get through this together,” Hogan said Monday.
Despite strongly advising people to stay at home for the last few weeks, a Charles County man was arrested last Friday after holding a bonfire party with more than 60 people. Shawn Meyers, 41, was charged with failure to comply with Hogan’s emergency order prohibiting gathering of more than 10 people. Those who violate the stay-at-home order will be charged with a misdemeanor. If they are convicted, they could be fined $5,000 and/or sentenced to up to one year in jail.
Hogan also talked about progress on the surge plan for hospitals, opening a number of drive-through testing sites, the need for personal protective equipment and ventilators and help for small businesses.
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