Maryland Governor Outlines Plans to Reopen State

ANNAPOLIS, Md.- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he is hoping to lift the stay at home orders sometime in early May if key indicators involving COVID-19 continue to drop or plateau.

Maryland is expected to continue to see an increasing number of cases, because the state is increasing testing, Hogan said at a Friday afternoon press conference. For the purposes of recovery, the governor said the key numbers that the state is most focused on are the rate of hospitalizations and the number of patients admitted to ICU.

"We are watching these numbers very closely on a daily basis and when we see that downward trajectory or a consistently plateauing of these metrics, then we can consider lifting the stay at home order and begin to implement our gradual and safe reopening plan," Hogan said.

The state reported Friday that there have been a total of 16,616 cases of the virus so far in Maryland, with an increase of 879 cases compared with the day before. There have been 723 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the state. That is 43 more deaths than Thursday.

"As I discussed on Wednesday, we have made considerable progress on all four of the building blocks which needed to be firmly in place before we could consider lifting restrictions,” Hogan said.

Those four areas include expanding testing capability, increasing hospital surge capacity, acquiring more personal protective equipment and a robust contact tracing operation.

“I'm optimistic that if Marylanders continue staying home and continue practicing physical distancing, a little while longer, that our numbers could continue to plateau. And I’m hopeful that we could then be able to begin our recovery in early May," Hogan said. 

The governor's "Maryland Strong Roadmap to Recovery" plan calls for people who are currently teleworking to continue to do so for the duration of a state of emergency. Social distancing and requirements to wear masks also would continue until the state of emergency ends. The plan has three stages:

STAGE ONE calls for lifting the stay-at-home order, and involves business, community, religious, and quality of life improvements. Examples of changes that could be implemented in this stage include:

• Reopening of small shops and certain small businesses
• Curbside pickup and drop-off for businesses
• Elective medical and dental procedures at ambulatory, outpatient, and medical offices
• Limited attendance outdoor religious gatherings
• Recreational boating, fishing, golf, tennis, hiking, and hunting
• Reopening of car washes
• Limited outdoor gym and fitness classes
• Outdoor work with appropriate distancing measures
• Some personal services

STAGE TWO will likely be a longer stage of the initial recovery, but will also be the stage when a large number of businesses and activities come back online. Any businesses that reopen during this period would need to comply with strict physical distancing and appropriate safety protocols. Examples of changes that could be implemented in this stage include:

• Raising the cap on social gatherings
• Indoor gyms and fitness classes
• Childcare centers
• Normal transit schedules
• Indoor religious gatherings
• Reopening of restaurants and bars with restrictions
• Elective and outpatient procedures at hospitals

STAGE THREE will involve instituting higher-risk activities, but there is no realistic timeline yet for achieving this level. Examples of changes that could be implemented in this stage include:

• Larger social gatherings
• Reopening of high-capacity bars and restaurants
• Lessened restrictions on visits to nursing homes and hospitals
• Reopening of entertainment venues
• Larger religious gatherings

Regional Approach. The plan contemplates offering some flexibility to health officers of county and municipal governments, and considering regional differences in COVID-19 conditions.

In each stage of the plan, the state will evaluate which localities meet appropriate gating criteria in the jurisdiction and/or region. In the event a locality has satisfied the gating criteria, county health officers will be permitted to expand the permitted activities and businesses under parameters of the current stage identified by the state. 

Hogan heads the National Governors Association, which also put out its own extensive “Roadmap to Recovery” this week.

COVID-19 Statistics in Maryland

Number of confirmed cases: 16,616

Number of negative test results: 68,100

Number of confirmed deaths: 723

Number of probable deaths: 75

Currently hospitalized: 1425

Acute care: 878

Intensive care: 547

Ever hospitalized: 3,618

Released from isolation: 1,108

Cases and Deaths Data Breakdown:

Parenthesis = Confirmed death, laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 test result 

Asterisk = Probable death, death certificate lists COVID-19 as the cause of death but not yet confirmed by a laboratory test

NH = Non-Hispanic

By County

By Age Range and Gender

By Race and Ethnicity