State Of Emergency Declared In PG County Due To Coronavirus

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — County officials responded swiftly to Gov. Larry Hogan's latest orders Monday to address the state's effort to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. At the same time, they confirmed Prince George's County has a total of 11 presumptive positive cases of the illness.

During a press conference earlier in day, Hogan order all bars, restaurants, movie theaters and gyms across the state to close and prohibited all gatherings of more than 50 people. He also expanded the number of state troopers and National Guardsmen dedicated to responding to COVID-19 and increased the number of medical personnel to treat all patients.

"I have declared a state of emergency in Prince George's County to ensure that we get the necessary resources that we will need to conduct this important work and to continue to keep all of our residents safe during the course of this pandemic," County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said, during a Monday afternoon press conference.

At the press conference, Dr. Ernest Carter, PG County's Health Officer, confirmed the county has six new presumptive positive cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total to 11. Here are the known details about the latest individuals to test positive:

• The fifth positive case is a man in 40s, who is a close contact with first case, which was a 55-year-old woman who acquired the illness at an out-of-town conference. He is not experiencing symptoms and is self-quarantining at home.
• The sixth positive case is a female in her 30s. Her case is currently under investigation. She was hospitalized, but she was released Sunday and is self-quarantining at home.
• The seventh patient is a man in his 50s, who has a connection with the sixth patient. He is currently hospitalized out of state.
• The eighth positive case is woman in her 60s, who recently traveled out of state. She is currently self-quarantining at home.
• The ninth and 10th cases are in close-contact with each other. They are a man in his 20s and a woman in her 40s, who recently returned from Europe. The man was released from the hospital, but the woman remains for treatment not related to the coronavirus.
• The 11th case remains under rapid investigation. Carter had just learned about it shortly before the press conference.

"My message today should be very clear," Carter said. "We are not in a position to play around with this particular virus. We have to use social distancing, because social distancing is our medicine for this virus. It's not the testing that everybody thinks. Testing is for public health officials like me who want to determine the spread. But it's the social distancing that's going to save people's lives."

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According to Alsobrooks, PG County Police will work to enforce all of the mandates regarding social distancing be maintained across the county.

Starting on Monday, all PG County government buildings will be closed to the public.

"We have begun a tiered telework strategy in county government, so that some of our county employees who were approved in advance for teleworking have also begun working remotely today," Alsobrooks said. "All other employees are reporting to work, but additional workforce reduction plans will be rolled out over the next few days."

PG County is also limiting the number of people who have access to the Emergency Operations Center. Anyone who visits the facility will have their temperature checked before they allowed to enter the building.

The National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation is closing all of its facilities and canceling all programs and events.

Also, the Prince George's Memorial Library has closed its facilities and suspended library programs, outreach events, meeting room activities, and passport services indefinitely.

"All fines incurred during the closure will be waived," Alsobrooks said. "Book drop offs will be closed; however, all online resources will be available during the closure."

To comply with Hogan's Thursday, March 12 order to close all Maryland public schools, PG County schools closed on Monday and will stay so through March 27.

Prince George's County Public Schools announced that starting Tuesday it was expanding its sack lunch program from nine to 25 locations. This will include a grab-and-go bag with breakfast, lunch and a snack.

In particular, Alsobrooks encouraged citizens to check in on the seniors in the community by calling them or picking up groceries or medicine for them.

Although Senior Nutrition Centers will be closed, food will be delivered to the seniors by transit operators from the Department of Public Works and Transportation on Monday. They will delivering a frozen pack of seven meals between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The seniors or their caregivers must be present to receive those meals. The driver will not leave the meals unless someone is there to receive them. Drivers will call 5 minutes before arrival.

PG County will be partnering with the Capital Area Food Bank to host three pop-up pantries.

"These pantries are for those who cannot afford to buy adequate food and who would normally seek help from our food pantry," Alsobrooks said, adding that details are still being hammered out. "They will be announced very shortly through social media, our government website, and we will also send an alert out to our partners in the news media."

The Department of Corrections has suspended all non-attorney visits to the jail and the regional processing center in Hyattsville.

"There have been no positive cases of coronavirus in the jail," Alsobrooks said. "We are really prioritizing safety at this time to keep it that way."

The Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement will continue to function by delivering services online. In addition, the PG County Financial Services is setting up an online payment service.

The PG County Department of Social Services buildings will remain open with limited access from the community.

The PG County Circuit Court is closed to the public until April. 6. A 24-hour drop-off box for pleadings will be located at the commissioner's office. All petit and grand jury service in the Circuit Court is also suspended until April 6.

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