Northam orders Va. schools to close for at least two weeks; coronavirus reduces Metro service

Covid-19 is spreading across the United States, and the Washington, D.C., region is no exception. The novel coronavirus, which causes the disease, made its first appearance in the region on March 5, with three travel-related cases in Montgomery County, Md., a suburb just north of Washington. In the next week, the number of reported cases doubled every 48 hours, spreding to nearly two dozen jurisdictions in and around the nation’s capital.

As of 3 p.m. Friday, 59 cases had been reported in the District, Maryland and Virginia. Read more about each of them below.

See more about those in the Washington region with coronavirus.

On Friday afternoon, Virginia state Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Woodbridge) called on Gov. Ralph Northam to call a special session of the legislature to pass sick-leave legislation in light of the pandemic.

Carroll Foy, a likely gubernatorial contender in 2021 to succeed Northam, praised the governor’s “swift, measured and thoughtful response” to the outbreak so far. She urged him to call a special session to pass legislation similar to House and Senate bills that died in the just-concluded regular session, which would have provided public- and private-sector employees five days of paid sick time per year.

She said lack of paid sick leave can “prevent many individuals from taking time off … placing them, and people with whom they come in contact, at heightened risk of exposure.“

"I would hope that we could consider broader and swifter options in light of the pandemic,” Carroll Foy wrote to Northam. “I would also urge you to explore options to hold the special session in a way that ensures physical distance between legislators to limit the further spread of the virus or remotely, if possible.”

People without health insurance in Maryland will have a chance to purchase it starting Monday, as the state opens a special enrollment window because of the coronavirus crisis.

Policies can be purchased through the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, the state’s marketplace that sells individual policies. Many are eligible for subsidies. The policies are normally only available during the traditional open-enrollment period in the fall, but Gov. Larry Hogan (R) ordered the exchange to over them now.

Two other states hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, Washington and Massachusetts, have created similar enrollment periods. One-hundred members of Congress have called on Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to implement a nationwide enrollment period.

“If Marylanders become sick, then we want them to be able to access the health care they need and get treatment to help keep all of us safe,” said health care activist Stephanie Klapper, with the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative.

The policies will be available until April 15.

The National Park Service said Friday that national parks will remain open.

The Department of the Interior, which oversees the Park Service, has a Pandemic Influenza Plan that is being reviewed, and should the need arise, it will be updated. State and local public health authorities, in consultation with the CDC, may issue recommendations for specific areas based on local interests.

The latest information will be shared on the National Park Service site.

Health officials provided fresh information Friday evening about cases of coronavirus in Virginia that were announced earlier in the day.

One of the two new cases in Fairfax involved a woman in her 40s who had close contact with one of the infected individuals at Christ Church in Georgetown, county health officials said. The woman began experiencing symptoms on March 3 and sought medical care eight days later. County officials said she is isolated at home and doing well.

The second case in the county was a man in his 60s who had contact with a person who works with the Department of Defense. The person had previously been identified as being infected. In the new case, the man began feeling ill on March 5 and was hospitalized six days later. He remains hospitalized.

Another of the Virginia cases occurred in Prince William County, making that the county’s second case. There, a woman in her 60s fell ill after returning from one of the countries heavily affected by covid-19, health officials said. The woman had limited contact with others before she developed symptoms, officials said. She tested positive late Thursday and was hospitalized Friday in stable condition.

In Loudoun County, a man in his 30s has also become infected in what became that county’s third case. County health officials said Friday the source of that man’s illness is still unknown. He remains hospitalized.

In central Virginia, Thomas Franck, the director of the Peninsula Health District said the five new cases in James City County — plus two that were reported Thursday — constitute “a community outbreak of covid-19.”

Four of the new cases are contacts of the two earlier cases, Franck said, in a news release. The fifth case involved a man whose exposure is unknown. Peninsula Health District officials didn’t immediately provide details of any of those infected individuals.

“The fact that one of these cases has an unknown exposure is concerning and is suspicious for community spread,” Franck said in the news release.

Montgomery County is suspending fare collection on Ride On buses starting Monday, and riders are being asked to board and exit through the rear doors of buses to reduce contact between passengers and drivers.

Passengers with wheelchairs or others who require the assistance of the lift at the front of the bus can still use the front doors, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation said Friday.

The changes, the latest precautions the bus system is implementing, are meant to create more distance between bus operators and passengers. Buses are undergoing increased daily sanitizing.

Officials say they expect regular service to continue on Ride On and Ride On Extra routes, but the system’s Flex bus service in Rockville and the Wheaton-Glenmont areas will be suspended until further notice.

Ride On is the largest bus system in the Washington region after Metrobus and serves thousands of people daily, covering urban and suburban communities that are not served by Metro.

D.C. health officials said they adopted emergency rules Friday that ban all gatherings of 250 or more people and get-togethers of more than 10 people from populations deemed at risk for covid-19. The ban does not apply to schools, workplaces, residential buildings and health-care facilities.

They also said doctors who determine a coronavirus test is warranted will now be able to send samples to private labs. The labs will be required to share the results with D.C. health officials. The move will allow the city to expand testing, which has been a major bottleneck in tackling the coronavirus crisis.

After facing strong criticism, the Trump administration also announced plans Friday to increase the availability of coronavirus tests and said it would partner with private industry to create drive-through testing centers.

Fairfax County schools will remain closed until April 10 following the announcement by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Friday that he was ordering all state schools closed for at least two weeks.

Fairfax County schools will be open Monday for students and staff to access their belongings, as well as for staff to provide laptops or other digital devices for students in grades three to eight who do not have access at home.

For staff who work less than 12 months, schools will be closed for at least two weeks. The school district will reassess schools reopening for those staff members after two weeks and will make that decision no later than March 27.