MARYLAND — One week after Gov. Larry Hogan told protesters to get tested for the coronavirus, the state will open up a high-volume testing site at the Baltimore Convention Center. It will start operating Wednesday, and people can now schedule appointments online.
Those who get tested at the convention center will receive their results in two to five days, according to the University of Maryland Medical System, which is overseeing scheduling at the site.
It will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, and Friday, June 19, at 1 West Pratt Street in Baltimore.
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“We are strongly encouraging anyone who wants to be tested for COVID-19, and anyone who has been in any large gathering, or who may have been exposed — especially those who are in or around vulnerable populations — to get tested," Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement Tuesday.
He was reiterating his message from a June 10 news conference where he announced the lifting of restrictions on indoor dining and outdoor amusements. Starting Friday, June 19, he is allowing gyms, malls and casinos to reopen too.
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"As more people are returning to the workplace, and as more people are beginning to interact with larger numbers of people," Hogan said, "testing will become more critical than ever."
Over the past seven days, the rolling positivity rate was 6.20 percent statewide, meaning 6.2 percent of those tested for the virus came up positive.
In addition to the site at the convention center in Baltimore, a large testing site has been set up at Six Flags America theme park, which will offer appointment-free testing from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, and Friday, June 19, at 13710 Central Avenue in Upper Marlboro.
.@MDHealthDept will begin operating a free #COVID19 testing site at the Baltimore Convention Center beginning Wed., June 17, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Appointments are encouraged—to schedule a test at this site or to find a test site near you, visit https://t.co/LHAwDqKRoc. pic.twitter.com/XqvBqdK0br — Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) June 16, 2020
There are 62,409 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Maryland as of Tuesday, according to state health officials.
In the past day, 377 people tested positive for the virus, authorities reported, and nearly 10,500 tests have been conducted.
Since the pandemic began in March, state health officials say 511,288 coronavirus tests have been administered across Maryland.
Positive numbers are continuing with respect to hospitalizations and intensive care unit patients, based on the latest Maryland health data.
For two weeks in a row, the number of coronavirus patients on the intensive care unit has gone down, and for 20 days in a row, the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients also decreased.
However, not all the data points are positive.
The number of acute care patients with the virus in Maryland hospitals has increased for the past two days — from 438 on Sunday to 458 on Tuesday.
That said, the number of acute care patients overall has been trending down; a week ago, state health officials were reporting there were 587 patients with the virus in acute care.
