PG County Coronavirus Response: Schools, Libraries, Courts Close

BOWIE, MD — Prince George's County employees will deliver meals to senior citizens, shut down libraries, schools and court services, and distribute sack lunches to children at multiple schools in the next two weeks. These are some of the actions in place as the county responds to the new coronavirus, said Angela Alsobrooks, Prince George’s County executive, in a news release Friday.

The county has seen several new cases of the COVID-19 virus this week, bringing the total to seven in Prince George’s County.

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For all county employees, these social distancing actions have been ordered:

• County agencies will implement responsible teleworking options for non-essential employees starting March 13.
• All county boards and commissions are suspending in-person meetings and hearings and will hold teleconferences, when possible, beginning March 16.
• In addition, access to county buildings will be restricted to county employees only beginning March 16.
• All non-essential community meetings are suspended.
• All non-essential, work-related out of state travel is suspended until April 30.

In addition to these directives, county agencies and facilities will be changing their operating schedule or closing to help combat the infection. Below, we have details regarding some of these changes.

Prince George’s County Public Schools will be closed from Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 27. During that closure, PGCPS will provide grab-and-go sack lunches from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily at these locations:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Beltsville
• William Wirt Middle School, Riverdale Park
• Nicholas Orem Middle School, Hyattsville
• Kenmoor Middle School, Landover
• Benjamin Tasker Middle School, Bowie
• Walker Mill Middle School, Capitol Heights
• Drew Freeman Middle School, Hillcrest Heights
• Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Temple Hills
• Stephen Decatur Middle School, Clinton

The Prince George’s County Department of Family Services is collaborating with the Department of Public Works and Transportation to provide meal deliveries for seniors starting Monday morning. The Department of Family Services has arranged for the seven-frozen meal packs to be delivered to a location and those meals will be picked up and delivered to the doors of senior citizens by Department of Public Works and Transportation personnel. The packs will be delivered to senior’s residences no later than 5 p.m. Seniors must be present during the delivery window in order to receive meals.

Related: MD Coronavirus: No Parades, Schools Close, Feeding Kids, Scams

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation is closing all facilities with limited park maintenance operations and is cancelling all programs and events effective March 16. All parks, trails and playgrounds will remain open. All cancellation fees are being waived and suspending existing programs and memberships.

The Department of Corrections has suspended all visitation, with the exception of attorney/legal visits. All volunteer services are suspended, and inmate programs within the jail are canceled until further notice. The regional processing center in Hyattsville is closed. The Department is working with the courts to delay weekenders’ sentences until after the epidemic.

The Prince George’s County Memorial Library System will be closed until further notice. Library programs, outreach events, meeting room activities, and passport services will be suspended indefinitely. Book drops will be closed and fines will be waived.

The Department of Housing and Community Development front offices will be closed until further notice. Any activity which would normally occur in the front office can be done by mail. All recertification appointments for the week of March 23, 2020 have been cancelled. The Landlord Briefing scheduled for March 18, 2020 is cancelled and will be replaced with a webinar. The upcoming Housing Choice Voucher Briefing scheduled for March 19, 2020 is cancelled, applicants will be advised by telephone followed by a formal letter. Housing inspectors will continue inspections of vacant units, however occupied unit re-inspections are suspended. The Housing authority will not accept walk-in payments—payments should be mailed. Last, the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners monthly meetings will be held via teleconference.

The Prince George’s County Department of Social Services will remain open, with limited community access. The family investment division, which is the part of the agency that processes benefits, is encouraging customers, especially seniors, to use agency services online.

The Prince George’s County Human Relations Commission will suspend all outreach events and public hearings before the adjudicating body of the Commission indefinitely. Intake appointments for complaints of discrimination will be conducted remotely; members of the public wishing to schedule appointments should call 240-695-7220. Effective immediately, the monthly commission meetings will be held telephonically, and those wishing to participate should call 240-695-7220 to be given dial-in directions.

The Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement will function remotely, delivering services online. Customers who are unable to use online services will have access to a drop-box available at the building to drop off plans and payments. The department will continue to inspect construction and properties.

The Department of Public Works and Transportation will continue to operate under normal operations. In the event government operations are modified, DPW&T will move from full service to modified transportation services, coordinating with compact partners in providing a fixed route bus transportation. Call-A-Bus will continue to provide meal delivery service to seniors as well as special dialysis trips.

The Circuit Court will close operations to the public until April 6. Employees are to report to work as normal unless approved for telework. There will be a 24 hour drop-box for pleadings at the Commissioner’s entrance of the Courthouse to accept and date-stamp pleadings. If you are summoned for jury duty and experiencing any acute respiratory illness symptoms or the caretaker of a family member with such symptoms (e.g. cough, shortness of breath, headaches, flu-like symptoms, fever, cough or sneezing), do not report for jury service without contacting the Jury Office at (301) 952-3485 to reschedule your service to a later date. Petit and Grand Jury Service in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County is also suspended until April 6, unless further extended by the Chief and Administrative Judge of the Circuit Court, the Honorable Sheila R. Tillerson-Adams.

The Economic Development Corporation will not accept visitors in their Largo office through the end of March, accepting calls instead.

For seniors and those with chronic medical conditions, you can also do some quick things to plan ahead in case you become sick, including:

• Stay in touch with others
• Develop a contact list of friends, family, neighbors, etc.
• If you have a caregiver, determine who can provide you care if your caregiver gets sick; and
• Listen to your body. If you are sick, call your health care provider and discuss your symptoms.

Check the county's website, health.mypgc.us/coronavirus, for information about COVID-19, or call the coronavirus hotline at 301-883-6627. This hotline is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.