Anne Arundel Coronavirus: Schools Prep For Closure If Needed

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Anne Arundel County health officials are investigating the case of a Montana resident who visited the area and has tested positive for the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. Gov. Larry Hogan said the case is counted as a Montana coronavirus patient, who is in isolation. As a precaution, county school officials have made plans to teach students via TV and online if buildings must close.

The State of Maryland has five confirmed positive cases in Montgomery County, three positive cases in Prince George's County, and one positive case in Harford County, for a total of nine.

The Maryland Department of Health says the Montana patient is a woman in her 70s who is currently hospitalized at Anne Arundel Medical Center. She was in close contact with someone who developed the disease before she traveled to Maryland to visit a family member, Hogan said.

The woman went to Anne Arundel Medical Center for coronavirus testing. Staff at the hospital took precautions to protect patients and staff, the governor said.

The case is related to travel within the United States. The patient had limited contacts, and those people have been identified and notified.

"Marylanders should be taking this pandemic very seriously," Hogan said. "All Marylanders need to understand and prepare that there may be significant disruption to your everyday lives for a period of time. Local schools and day cares should be prepared for long-term closures.”

Residents can find information at health.maryland.gov/coronavirus or call 211 to get information from a representative.

“The health of county residents, visitors, and county employees is our top priority,” said County Executive Steuart Pittman in a news release. “We want to keep our residents well-informed and prepared. The county and the City of Annapolis have been preparing for this possibility since January. At this time, there is no reason to panic, but we do want to reinforce preventive measures we can all take against COVID-19.”

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County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman told County Executive Steuart Pittman of the positive case earlier Wednesday and has been in contact with Maryland Department of Health officials. Anne Arundel County Health will take the lead on the investigation.

Once Maryland authorities became aware of this case, they coordinated with officials in Anne Arundel County and in Montana, and Hogan said he contacted Montana Gov. Steve Bullock. "I continue to urge Marylanders to stay informed, and follow the guidance we have issued," Hogan tweeted. "We want to emphasize that if you are concerned about symptoms, please call your health-care provider."

During the Wednesday press conference, Kalyanaraman said the Montana patient entered the healthcare system five days ago and has been self-isolating and being monitored to make sure the patient's symptoms weren't worsening. It took two days for the test to return positive.

"It's taking 48 to 72 hours for turnaround on tests," Kalyanaraman said.

School System Plans For Building Closures

Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent George Arlotto said during the press conference that the situation might escalate to the point where the entire school system must shut down.

"We have begun planning for several aspects. One is for continuity ... accounts payable, technology, those must be able to run safely from a distance in terms of administration and operation. The second piece is instruction and how to maintain instruction between students and teachers at all levels," he said.

Two weeks' worth of lesson plans have been prepared and students with internet access would use Google Classroom while other students without internet access would receive their educational lessons on TV, he said.

"The third point is meals. Some kids' eat breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner with us, so we're working on plans to deliver meals to students around the country, but that will depend upon having health staff to provide the food and the supply chain to get the food out there," Arlotto said. "We do plan to continue with sports, but will have to consider whether to allow spectators at events."

Pittman said that county residents can expect additional cancellations of government meetings and activities, which will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

"We're in the process of doing our general development plan for planning and zoning and that relies very heavily on community engagement. So the question we're asking now is if we have it or postpone it," he said during the press conference.

Kalyanaraman said during the press conference that hospitals have the capability to isolate patients both short-term or for the duration of care needed and already have plans in place.

"We've worked with the hospitals to determine how many patients they can realistically handle and have enhanced protections and limited contact between an ill patient and other patients," he said.

Across Virginia, D.C. and Maryland, there are now a total of 22 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including nine cases in Virginia. The disease first emerged in Wuhan, China, late last year and has now infected more than 124,000 people around the globe and killed 4,584. The World Health Organization announced Wednesday it now considers the global outbreak a "pandemic." The pandemic declaration refers to the scope of the new coronavirus — but not its severity — and means it has become a "worldwide spread of a new disease.”

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