'We're Ready To Take Some Further Steps,' Hogan Says Of Reopening

MARYLAND — Maryland has made "great progress" in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday, more than two weeks after he lifted the statewide stay-at-home order. With coronavirus-related hospitalizations trending down, the governor said he plans to make more changes soon.

"We're way ahead of schedule on testing. All of our numbers are down," Hogan said Tuesday morning on WBAL Radio's C4 Show. "We've been trying to get our economy reopened."

When Hogan lifted restrictions on outdoor dining at restaurants in Maryland last week, he said he may announce stage two of the state's reopening this week, which he reiterated Tuesday. His roadmap for recovery says that data must show the virus slowing its spread to proceed.

"Our plan says two weeks of plateau or a pattern of plateauing or downward numbers in those categories" such as hospitalizations are required to reopen, Hogan told C4. "Stage one started three weeks ago and all the numbers are down, so we're very excited about that, and I think we're ready to take some further steps."

When Hogan announced the first stage of the state's reopening May 13, the Maryland Department of Health reported 1,550 people were hospitalized with the virus, including 572 on the intensive care unit (ICU).

As of Tuesday, there are 1,148 people hospitalized with the virus, including 479 in the ICU. That means hospitalizations are down by more than 400 and nearly 100 are no longer in the ICU compared with two and a half weeks ago.

"We're going to be looking at continuing our safe, gradual and effective reopenings," Hogan said Tuesday. "We'll probably be taking a look at some of that this week and in the weeks to come and continue to try to get some of our economy back on track."

UPDATE: Hogan To Address Coronavirus Recovery Progress, Floyd Protests

After more than 350,000 Marylanders have been tested for the virus, the state's positivity rate is 10.5 percent, state health officials reported Tuesday.

"We've got concerns about social distancing all over as we reopen and more people get out and around more people," Hogan said. "It's certainly still not safe to gather in large numbers in close proximity, and we saw an awful lot of that" with demonstrations, the governor said.

As people continue to protest the death of George Floyd of Minneapolis in police custody across the nation and in Maryland, Hogan said there could be health implications.

"Hopefully it's not going to be bad, but it's definitely something the doctors and the scientists are worried about," Hogan told C4. Demonstrations have brought "in some cases, thousands of people cramming together," Hogan said, "when just a week ago we were concerned about more than 10 people being together."

Officials say 54,175 Marylanders have tested positive for the virus as of Tuesday morning, an increase of 848 in the past day.

"Many of the people were wearing masks" at the demonstrations, Hogan said, which will help prevent the spread of the illness. "Time will tell."

It can take two weeks for people to develop symptoms of the virus, and some may have no symptoms at all. People can be contagious two days before the onset of symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the coronavirus spreading mainly through person-to-person contact, the U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said there was "every reason to expect that we will see new clusters and potentially new outbreaks" of the coronavirus after protests, in an interview with Politico.

In Maryland 1,148 people are hospitalized with the virus as of Tuesday morning, a decrease of 26 patients compared with the day before, according to the Maryland Department of Health. Admissions were up slightly on the intensive care unit day-to-day, where 481 patients were being treated for the virus Tuesday.

Here are the jurisdictions and their positivity rates, according to the Maryland Department of Health:

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Officials say 2,474 Marylanders have died from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus; lab results are pending for 116 others as of Tuesday.

Since the first cases of the virus were confirmed March 5 in Maryland, authorities report it has put 8,957 people in the hospital, and 3,855 Marylanders have been released from isolation.

Testing In Maryland

See a list of coronavirus testing sites in Maryland.

Coronavirus in Maryland: A Snapshot

Here is a look at Maryland's coronavirus numbers at Maryland's coronavirus numbers as of Tuesday, June 2:

Maryland Coronavirus Cases By Jurisdiction

Maryland Coronavirus Cases By Age And Gender

Maryland Coronavirus Cases By Race And Ethnicity

Here are the numbers as of Tuesday, June 2:

Coronavirus Symptoms

Symptoms of the new coronavirus can appear two to 14 days after exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which lists the following as possible indicators of the illness: fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pain, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell.

The CDC has an online self-checker tool for those concerned they may have the virus.

Health officials say most people with the virus will experience mild symptoms and can recover at home. Older adults and people of any age with serious underlying medical conditions may be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, according to the CDC.

People should call 911 and seek immediate medical attention if they have trouble breathing, bluish lips or face, new confusion or inability to arouse and/or persistent pain or pressure in the chest.

See Also:

• 7 New Coronavirus Deaths In PG County; 15,553 Confirmed Cases
• MoCo Adds 255 Coronavirus Cases As It Enters Phase 1 Of Reopening
• MD Reopening Restaurants For Outdoor Dining, Stage 2 Nears: Hogan