Coronavirus: Hogan Asked To Address Racial Disparities

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Two lawmakers representing Prince George's County have written a letter to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan asking him to address the racial disparities made worse by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Calling PG County "the epicenter of the outbreak in Maryland," Congressman Anthony G. Brown (MD-04) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-05) requested the governor dedicate additional resources for testing, hospital surge capacity, data collection, and public health education in PG County.

On Tuesday morning, the Maryland Department of Health confirmed 3,734 PG County residents tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. In addition, 111 deaths have been attributed to the disease.

PG County has the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, according to the latest data from the Maryland Department of Health. Second on the list is Montgomery County, with a total of 2,768 positive infections.

African Americans account for 5,322 of the 14,193 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 218 of the 584 deaths due to the disease in Maryland. Although PG County's 900,000 residents represent less than 15 percent of Maryland's population, its cases account for 26 percent of the statewide confirmed cases, as well as 30 percent of hospitalizations.

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“These high rates of infection and death are taking their toll on the hospitals, providers, and health care workers in Prince George’s County,” wrote the lawmakers. “The coronavirus has exposed the existing health disparities in our communities, which have been exacerbated by decades’ old policies on education, childcare, employment, criminal justice, community and economic revitalization, housing, transportation, and land use. We must act now to ensure these disparities do not cost more lives during this pandemic, and we must work to close these gaps moving forward.”

Brown and Hoyer suggested Hogan adopt the following priorities moving forward:

• Setting up targeted testing locations in PG County.
• Prioritizing surge capacity investments, such as additional beds, staff, and supplies to help the area with the most infections and deaths.
• Establishing additional public health education to help spread information about how social distancing and hand hygiene can help protect individuals from infection.
• Addressing long-term racial health disparities that are worse now due to the pandemic, such as providing access to healthy food providers.
• Enhancing data on Maryland's response to the pandemic in PG County, to ensure sufficient resources are available to combat the disease.

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