Governor talked about recovery during his news conference.
Annapolis, Md (KM) Governor Larry Hogan is talking about recovery from the coronavirus emergency. During his news conference on Wednesday at the State House in Annapolis, he said the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Maryland are still increasing, but at a much slower rate. “And on a positive note, over the past few days, our hospitalization rates are starting to show possible signs of stabilizing,: he said.
The Governor gives a lot of credit to Marylanders who have been practicing social distancing. “In addition, we have dramatically ramped up our surge capacity, our testing capability and our supplies of PPE,” he said. “And our contact tracing teams are also having greater success because people are staying home and limiting their contact with others.”
PPE is personal protective equipment, such as masks, gowns and booties which protect first respodners and health care workers from contracting the coronavirus. The contact tracing teams are a group of “disease detectives” who track down interview patients with COVID-19, and find out who they’ve been in contact with before they became ill.
Hogan says now it’;s time to shift gears in the fight against the coronavirus. “Fortunately, because of the early and aggressive actions, and because of the extraordinary sacrifices of Marylanders, we’re now in a position to move from containment and mitigation to plan the gradual rollout of our recovery phase.”
The Governor says next week he will be discussing with his staff any recovery plans. But he says any recovery must not move too fast. “Because if the recovery is not done in a thoughtful and responsible way, it would not only cost lives, but it would deepen the economic crisis and actually prolong the problems and slow our recovery,” he says
Maryland’s Chief Executive said it’s difficult to say when this emergency will end, and life can get back to normal.
Masks
In a related topic, Governor Hogan said he signed an executive order on Wednesday requiring all customers entering retail establishments or other essential businesses to wear cloth face coverings. “It also requires all essential retail locations to require their staff to wear face coverings and requires those businesses to put into place appropriate social distancing measures in order to keep their customers and their staff safe,” he said.
The order takes affect on Saturday, April 18th at 7:00 AM.
Frederick County Health Officer Dr. Barbara Brookmyer issued a similar order on Tuesday. But she has rescinded that order, noting that the Governor’s Executive Order takes precedence.
By Kevin McManus