MD Reopening Could Start In Early May, Hogan Says: Coronavirus

MARYLAND — Gov. Larry Hogan released his plan Friday for reopening the state, called "Maryland Strong Roadmap to Recovery." The phased approach could begin as soon as early May if the rate of hospitalizations and patients admitted to intensive care units drops.

"Maryland is not yet able to lift our restrictions," Hogan said.

"I'm optimistic that if Marylanders continue staying home and continue practicing physical distancing a little while longer that our numbers could continue to plateau, and I'm hopeful that we would then be able to begin our recovery in early May," Hogan said.

"We won't be able to just flip a switch," Hogan said. "Life is not going to immediately just go back to normal," particularly until a vaccine is developed for the new coronavirus.

The measures already taken in the state "flattened the curve in Maryland," Dr. Thomas Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said at the governor's news conference Friday.

New daily cases in Maryland have been plateauing, but, Inglesby said: "There isn't a decline yet." Hospitalizations, ICU stays and deaths would need to decline for the state to reopen.

In the future, Marylanders will need to wear cloth masks, stay 6 feet or more apart and telecommute when possible, he noted.

"Less social interactions will be better than more social interactions," Inglesby said. "All of our collective actions and decisions will either slow this virus down or they will speed up the spread."

For now, the focus should be on getting plans and programs in place for reopening, he said.

The governor, who ran for office as a small businessman, said his top priority was saving lives and then stabilizing the economy.

"It breaks my heart to see so many Marylanders struggling and going through so much economic pain," Hogan said. "Other than keeping Marylanders safe ... there is absolutely nothing more important to me than getting people back to work, getting small businesses reopened and getting our economy back on track."

3-Phase Plan For Reopening

Hogan outlined three phases for recovery:

Phase one: Lifting the stay-at-home order. This would involve "business, community, religious, and quality of life improvements," the plan says. Examples of changes that could be implemented in this stage include reopening some small businesses and retail shops, car washes, golf courses, recreational boating, tennis and outdoor religious and fitness activities. Elective outpatient procedures could be allowed in areas with lower coronavirus case concentrations. Local governments would have flexibility to open playgrounds, municipal recreational centers, parks and libraries.

If phase one continues without a spike in deaths or outbreaks of community transmission, the governor said the state could move into phase two. The Maryland Strong Roadmap to Recovery also says people must continue adhering to social distancing best practices; otherwise, the state may slow, stop or reverse course when it comes to easing guidelines.

Phase two: Limits would be raised on number of people in social gatherings, and public transit schedules may return to normal. Indoor religious gatherings could resume. This phase could include restaurants and potentially bars reopening, with significant safety restrictions.

"This will likely be a longer stage of the initial recovery, but will also be the stage when a large number of businesses and activities come back online," according to the plan.

Phase three: This phase could involve reinstituting higher-risk activities like larger social gatherings and events, including those at entertainment venues and further lessening of restrictions at hospitals and nursing homes.

Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz and the Maryland Department of Commerce are forming advisory groups that will develop recommendations and best practices for various industries to responsibly reopen. The state's Coronavirus Recovery Team will review the plans from these sectors: retail; accommodations; sports; restaurants and bars; destinations; attractions; tourism; transportation; manufacturing; professional and financial services; personal services and small business; construction and development; and the arts. Separate groups will also submit plans for faith-based organizations and nonprofits.

"Each of these recovery stages will need to be instituted in a safe, gradual and effective manner," Hogan said.

"If we try to rush this and if we don't do it in a thoughtful and responsive way," Hogan said of the overall plan, there could be a rebound of the virus that could "slow our economic recovery."

Numbers The Governor Is Watching

To determine when it was safe to begin the phases of recovery, Hogan said hospitalizations and numbers of patients being admitted to intensive care units would need to go down or plateau.

"We are watching these numbers very closely on a daily basis," he said, to determine when to begin a "safe and effective recovery plan."

He said that the state was not yet able to lift its restrictions and that he would be guided by the science and the data in determining a reopening path forward, noting he would not be held to an early May reopening if the experts did not support that based on the numbers.

"This is guesswork," he said. "We've had a couple of days that looked better ... but three days does not make a trend."

Read the governor's plan — Maryland Strong Roadmap to Recovery.

What The Plan Is

"The purpose of a road map is to lay out paths to a destination," the Maryland Strong Roadmap to Recovery says. "A road map is not a calendar, or a set of fixed dates, but it is an important guide to show the intended path forward to recovery."

Maryland's plan was informed by the National Governors Association’s Roadmap to Recovery and incorporates guidelines issued by the White House and recovery paths outlined by the American Enterprise Institute and Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

For the latest developments on the coronavirus in Maryland, get Patch news alerts.

Previously, Hogan said four pieces of public health infrastructure would be required to support the state as it transitions from coronavirus response to recovery: increased testing capacity, expanded hospital surge capacity, a robust contact tracing operation and ramp-up of personal protective equipment (PPE) are necessary for the state to reopen.

The state had "exponentially" expanded its testing capacity, exceeded its expectations around surge capacity, was "making progress" in supplying PPE and had quadrupled its ability to contact trace by "building a robust force" of 1,000 contact tracers, he said. The state also started a state-of-the-art platform to assist with contact tracing called COVID Link.

Related:

• Barbershops, Salons Can Reopen For Essential Workers: MD Governor
• Coronavirus: Hogan Asked To Address Racial Disparities
• Don't Consume Disinfectant, MD Officials Warn After Trump Comment
• 4 Ways To Make Face Masks As New MD Order Takes Effect
• MD Buys 500K Coronavirus Tests From South Korea: Hogan
• Hogan Touts Laurel Hospital Opening