MD Coronavirus: 12 On Cruise Ship; MVA, Nursing Home Changes

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Gov. Larry Hogan says Maryland businesses and schools need to prepare for extended closures because of the coronavirus, and organizers of large events should delay or cancel their plans. Wednesday night the state's total number of cases increased to 12 after with another patient each in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, and the first coronavirus case in Baltimore County.

The Montgomery County resident is a man in his 20s who recently traveled to Spain, and is not hospitalized, Hogan's office said. The first Baltimore County case is a man in his 60s who worked at the recent American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, D.C., and is not in a hospital. And the newest Prince George’s County patient is a man in his 60s whose travel history is under investigation, and is currently hospitalized.

The Maryland Department of Health has notified local officials about the cases and begun investigating potential exposure risk to the community.

Related: First Coronavirus Case In Baltimore County Confirmed

He gave an update of the state's response to COVID-19 Wednesday afternoon as he confirmed a visitor from Montana went to an Annapolis hospital and has tested positive for the virus; and a dozen Marylanders are waiting to come home after taking a cruise.

"Over the past several weeks we have been saying while we are hoping for the best, we are actively preparing for the worst," Hogan said.

"As of this hour ... more than 121,000 people in over 100 countries have been infected by COVID-19. Over 4,300 people have died," Hogan said at his 4 p.m. press conference. "Here in America, there are over 1,000 cases and 31 deaths across 42 states and Washington, D.C. Twenty-four governors have declared a state of emergency. This situation is escalating rapidly. Information is changing not only on a daily basis, but on an hourly, almost minute-by-minute, basis."

Calling the new coronavirus an evolving threat, Hogan outlined several statewide changes to help prevent spread of the infection:

• The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration will immediately move to an appointments-only system for all transactions to reduce walk-ins, reduce foot traffic and keep crowds to a minimum.
• The Maryland Health Benefits Exchange is establishing a special enrollment period through Maryland Health Connections for coronavirus coverage. Even though the federal marketplace doesn't offer this kind of enrollment, "we wanted to do so to provide peace of mind to Maryland residents," he said.
• The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services is ending in-person visits for people in infirmaries, reducing programs in facilities, offering more video visits and requiring staff with any flu-like symptoms to stay home.
• Effective immediately, nursing homes, assisted living and retirement facilities will have restricted access to essential visits only. All staff members are prohibited from international travel. He recommends the facilities actively screen all people entering and restrict anyone showing symptoms or exposure to COVID-19.

Hogan said he is concerned that the number of cases outside China has increased thirteen-fold and the number of affected countries has tripled in the last two weeks. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Congressional leaders Wednesday that the coronavirus is roughly 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu, the governor said.

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Federal officials have told Hogan that 12 Maryland residents are aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship docked off the California coast. All of them are being taken to military bases in Georgia and Texas for examination and quarantine.

Maryland was asked to take passengers who don't show any coronavirus symptoms, but Hogan said he has told federal officials that all 12 residents must be tested on a military base first. Once they are cleared by doctors, they can come back to Maryland.

"We want those Marylanders to be able to come home. However, we also want to take every precaution to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our state," Hogan said.

Any Maryland resident who tests positive for the virus must stay in quarantine at a military base, he added.

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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