EASTON, Md.- Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday that the state is opening more COVID-19 testing sites, including two on the Eastern Shore. The governor also announced required regular COVID-19 testing at nursing homes and the distribution of face masks to the public.
The governor spoke Thursday afternoon outside of the University of Maryland Shore Medical Pavillion in Easton, where a new hospital-based testing site is under construction.
The governor said the state is opening six more hospital-based testing sites, which are expected to be fully up and running by the end of next week. The sites are:
- UM Shore Regional Health, Talbot County
- TidalHealth Peninsula Regional, Wicomico County
- Garrett Regional Medical Center, Garrett County
- Holy Cross Germantown Hospital, Montgomery County
- Howard County General Hospital, Howard County
- UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center, Anne Arundel County
The governor said eight of the 10 new state testing sites he announced last week are now open with the two remaining sites to open Friday.
All of these sites will be open daily with no appointment necessary.
Hogan said Maryland has completed more than 17 million COVID-19 tests with an average of 63,000 tests a day, which he said is one of the highest testing rates in the nation.
N95 and KN95 MASKS: The Maryland Department of Health will begin distributing 20 million N95 and KN95 face masks to Marylanders through local health departments, state-run testing and vaccination sites, partnerships between the Vaccine Equity Task Force and community organizations (such as the NAACP), nursing homes, and state agencies.
Hogan said Maryland is fifth in the nation when it comes to wearing face masks, so he does not believe a mask mandate is warranted.
NURSING HOMES: MDH is issuing an order to require all staff, volunteers and vendors who are in a nursing home facility regularly, regardless of vaccination status, to be tested twice weekly whenever community transmission is high.
The order also requires all nursing home visitors to provide proof of a negative test, or be tested at the facility with a rapid test prior to entering.
As of Thursday, 70% of Maryland nursing homes are reporting positive COVID-19 cases among residents and staff.
The order will take effect on Jan. 21. Hogan said the state will work with nursing homes to make all necessary testing resources available to them.
DISTRIBUTION OF REMDESIVIR: The Maryland National Guard will begin distributing courses of Remdesivir, one of the therapeutic treatments believed to be effective against the Omicron variant, to institutional pharmacies that directly serve nursing homes.
