Today (4/29/20) Governor Larry Hogan gave a live briefing on the impact of and response to COVID-19 in Maryland. Governor Hogan covered topics including nationwide cases, Maryland’s cases, testing sites, nursing homes, and Maryland’s first Healthcare Heroes day. Read key takeaways below, or watch Governor Hogan’s full press conference here.
Total U.S. cases:
- Over 1 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the United States.
- More Americans have died of Covid-19 than the total that died in the Vietnam War.
Maryland cases
- Maryland has 20,849 confirmed cases, and 985 deaths.
- 4,402 Marylanders have been hospitalized, 1610 are currently hospitalized including 586 that are in intensive care.
Testing Sites:
- 500,000 tests from South Korea will allow for expanded testing capacity, which will be focused on attacking hot spots and providing more testing for health care workers and first responders.
- Opening a testing site at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury specifically to test workers of the Perdue Salisbury and Amick Hurlock processing plants.
Impact on nursing homes:
- Currently 4,011 confirmed cases of the coronavirus at 143 different Maryland nursing homes. These outbreaks account for 19% of Maryland’s total positive cases and 46% of the state’s deaths.
- Issued an executive order requiring universal testing of all residents and staff at all Maryland nursing homes, regardless of whether they are symptomatic or not.
- It is mandatory for facilities to fully comply with strike teams deployed by the state.
- All nursing homes must have a physician, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant or registered nurse evaluate all residents on a daily basis.
- New bridge teams to provide emergency clinical staffing. Each bridge team will be composed of a registered nurse and five to seven aides, sufficient to care for up to 100 skilled nursing home residents per shift. Teams are fully vetted and ready to be immediately deployed to provide 24-hour coverage for nursing homes in crisis.
Healthcare Heroes Day
- Proclaiming May 2 as “Healthcare Heroes Day” in Maryland. The State House dome will be illuminated in blue light, along with Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium. There will also be flyovers by the Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds.
If you have any questions or concerns explore our COVID-19 resource page, or reach out to us directly at 410-321-8200.
