One person testing positive for the virus attended an event there last month.
Annapolis, Md (KM). A retirement community in Montgomery County has become part of the investigation into the three coronavirus cases in Maryland. During a news conference on Friday, Governor Larry Hogan said one of the patients diagnosed with the coronavirus attended an event at the Village at Rockville on Friday, February 28th. “Where they were in contact with 70 to 100 individuals, including outside visitors as well as residents and staff,” he said.
The event took place 12:00 noon until 6:00 PM.
The Governor is encouraging anyone who attended that even to contact their doctor or health care provider to be tested. The Maryland Department of Health says the symptoms to look out for are similar to a respiratory infection, such as fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, or shortness of breath until March 13th, 2020.
Deputy Health Secretary Fran Phillips said the Village at Rockville has been very cooperative in this investigation. “The facility there has a workforce staff that they’re going to be looking after and monitoring to make sure those health care workers do not develop symptoms,” she said. “They also are very cooperative in making sure that their residents–the residents who may have been exposed at that one gathering, that one day that one gathering—if those residents have any symptoms.”
On Thursday, Governor Hogan announced that three Montgomery County residents tested positive for the coronavirus, and declared a state of emergency. He said those three had been on a cruise on the Nile River where they caught the virus. They returned home on February 20th.
After that, one of the individuals attended an event at a school in the Philadelphia area where they interacted with students and staff. The Governor says Maryland health officials notified their counterparts in Pennsylvania, which led to the closures of five schools in Bucks County on Friday.
Anyone who has questions on the coronavirus is asked to call the Maryland Emergency Management Agency’s call center at 410-517-3720. The center is staffed until Midnight on Friday, and from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.
By Kevin McManus