Here are some of the most significant and recent developments as the region responds to the pandemic of the coronavirus, which causes the disease covid-19:
• Nine more people tested positive in the District and the first known death in the city as a result of the virus is that of a member of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, the monastery’s superior said Saturday. Two girls, ages 9 and 11, are among those who tested positive.
• Maryland reported a second man had died as a result of the virus. Officials said the man, Baltimore County resident was in his 60s and suffered from underlying medical conditions. A Prince George’s man, also in his 60s, died earlier in the week.
• Virginia reported 38 new cases on Saturday and Gov. Ralph Northam signed an executive order making it easier for hospitals and nursing homes to add beds during the coronavirus pandemic.
• The Maryland National Guard is helping to set up an assessment center for people experiencing symptoms of coronavirus at FedEx Field in Landover.
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D.C. reports 21 new cases of covid-19
The District announced 21 new coronavirus cases Saturday evening. Two of those diagnosed include young girls, 9 and 11-years-old.
That brings the total number of reported cases in the District to 102.
The Washington Post is including four cases diagnosed in D.C. involving patients who do not reside in the District: a man who resides in Maryland, a man who resides in Florida, and a man and a woman with unknown addresses.
Four of the new cases announced Saturday were people in their 20s, and six were in their 30s.
There are now 447 reported cases in the District, Maryland and Virginia. There has been one death in the District attributed to coronavirus, two in Maryland and three in Virginia.
Prince George’s school employee test positive for covid-19
A Prince George’s County Public Schools employee who works at the Oxon Hill Staff Development Center has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a news release from the school system.
Schools chief executive Monica Goldson said the employee did not have contact with students and is receiving medical treatment. The county’s health department has notified all employees who may have been in close contact with the person, according to the news release.
No additional information was provided about the condition of the employee.
Psychiatrist resigns from Fairfax mental health board, citing inadequate safety protocols
A Fairfax County psychiatrist resigned Friday over what he called inadequate safeguards against novel coronavirus infection from patients at the county’s Merrifield Center for mental health treatment.
Jason Williams, who for two years has treated patients for the county’s Community Services Board, is among a growing number of health-care professionals to voice concern over continued interactions with patients without clear guidance. He said psychiatrists and other workers have been meeting with patients inside small counseling rooms, without masks or other protective gear.
“The current practice of allowing staff (doctors, clinicians, law enforcement, etc.) at the CSB Emergency Services (ES) to see patients, public, etc. in tiny interview rooms over and over, and with no protective masks of any kind, is HIGHLY problematic, dangerous, and contributing to the asymptomatic transmission of the virus that causes the disease known as covid-19,” Williams said in a letter to county officials, a copy of which he provided to The Washington Post.
Workers in a host of jobs increasingly express worry about unwittingly taking home the virus to their families, particularly after recent reports of positive tests for District firefighters, a District police detective, a Fairfax County teacher and several health-care workers in the region.
Read the full story here:
University of Maryland announces second case of coronavirus, in athletic department
University of Maryland officials announced Saturday that the school had confirmed its second case of coronavirus: a contract employee who works at the school’s health center and in the athletic department. The university’s first case, a student who had studied in Europe, was disclosed Friday.
School officials learned the positive virus test for the contract employee late Friday, according to a statement released to the campus community. “We immediately began notifying the individuals who we know came into direct contact with the individual and provided CDC guidance,” the statement said.
The university said their first case was a student who returned home from studying in Barcelona. Officials said the student did not return to the College Park campus and is recovering at home with her family out of state.
“We are doing everything in our power to support the student-athletes and athletics staff who came into direct contact with the [contract employee],” tweeted Maryland athletic director Damon Evans. “As Terps, our shells are strong but they are not invulnerable and so we thank our healthcare professionals for their ongoing efforts to protect our campus community.”
Fairfax announces its first death from coronavirus
A man in his 60s who had been hospitalized for covid-19 in Fairfax County has died, Fairfax authorities said Saturday evening. He is the first reported coronavirus death in Fairfax, and the third in Virginia.
The man’s name and hometown were not released. The Fairfax County Health Department said he acquired the coronavirus “through contact with a previously reported case,” and that his cause of death was “respiratory failure as a result of covid-19.”
The Virginia Department of Health reported two deaths earlier in the week, both in the Tidewater area.
“We are saddened by the first confirmed death of a Fairfax County resident due to covid-19. Our hearts go out to his loved ones,” said Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu, the director of the Fairfax County Health Department. “The health of our residents is our top priority and we ask that everyone do their part to slow the spread of the virus in our community: practice social distancing, wash your hands, and cover coughs and sneezes.”
In Loudoun, Waxpool Elementary principal tests positive for coronavirus
Loudoun County school officials announced Saturday that a second and third staff member have tested positive for the coronavirus, and the second member is Waxpool Elementary School Principal Michael Pellegrino.
The district announced Thursday that another Waxpool staff member had tested positive, the district’s first such test. Officials said Pellegrino agreed to make his identity public as the second infected member from Waxpool, and said he was not experiencing symptoms of the virus. The Loudoun County Health Department is now conducting a contact investigation for Pellegrino and expected to reach each person he may have come into contact with by phone on Saturday. School officials said the health department had already reached every individual known to have contact with the first staff member.
The district said several other members from Waxpool, which is in Ashburn, “are symptomatic and have test results pending.”
The Loudoun schools’ third positive test was related to a staff member who works at both Liberty Elementary School in South Riding and Pinebrook Elementary School in Aldie. “The staff member is receiving medical care and we wish them a complete recovery,” the school district said. The county health department is conducting the contact investigation related to this staff member.
Prince George’s police to begin taking non-violent crime reports by phone
The Prince George’s County police said Saturday that beginning at midnight Monday officers will start taking nonviolent crime reports over the phone instead of in person in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
A number of police departments around the country are adopting similar procedures as the number of first responders to test positive increases.
When individuals call 911 to report an incident, the operator will ask for details about the crime. If it if for a nonviolent offense, the operator will take a number and an officer will call to take a report.
The department said the new procedure will apply primarily to property crimes where a suspect is no longer at the scene.
National Park Service: Don’t visit the cherry blossoms
The National Park Service on Saturday said too many people are visiting the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin to maintain social distancing measures needed to prevent spread of coronavirus.
The park service, which oversees the Mall and Memorial Parks, discouraged people from viewing the trees, now in peak bloom, and will close parking to keep them away.
“As crowds increase at the Tidal Basin, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain effective social distancing and keep an appropriate space from other visitors,” the park service tweeted. “We strongly urge anyone considering a visit to see the cherry blossoms to reconsider and to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. ”
Metro previously closed two rail stations near the blossoms — the Smithsonian and Arlington Cemetery stations — until further notice in hopes of thinning the crowds.
Activities associated with the weeks-long Cherry Blossom Festival, including a parade, were also canceled.
“Slowing the spread of novel coronavirus is everyone’s responsibility,” the NPS tweet continued. “We will be implementing traffic control measures, including closing the already limited parking areas, to discourage excessive visitation. ”
For safer viewing, the park service has set up “BloomCam” online. You can see it here.
Member of the Franciscan Monastery is D.C.'s first known death from coronavirus
A member of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America is the first known coronavirus death in the District, the monastery’s superior, Father Larry Dunham, said Saturday.
John-Sebastian Laird-Hammond, 59, had been battling leukemia for years, Dunham said. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced the District’s first death related to the virus on Friday but did not reveal the person’s identity.
Laird-Hammond had been at the monastery since the late 1980s, Dunham said, and has for the last 14 years run its day-to-day operations as the business manager. He had recently been approved for a transfer to an order in New York, where he was going to be involved in fundraising efforts for missions in Central America, Dunham said.
“It was going to be like a whole new focus and life for him,” Dunham said. “That was to be his new assignment that never quite materialized.”
Bowser said Laird-Hammond had been hospitalized since last week. Dunham said he received a picture from him a few days ago of the thermometer showing his temperature: 103.5 degrees.
“My knees started to buckle,” Dunham said. “I said, ‘please try to get better’…. He always recovers. He always finds a way. But he didn’t find a way. That’s what I’m really trying to get my head around.”
First Montgomery County police officer tests positive for covid-19
A Montgomery County police officer has tested positive for the coronavirus, county health officials said Saturday. The officer’s age, gender and assignment were not released. The positive test was the first for any police officer in Montgomery, health officials said.
“Based on the initial investigation,” the county Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release, “it appears the police officer had limited interaction with the public but did work across several sections of the police department. At this point, it doesn’t appear he was infected as a result of his work."
The health department said it was leading the contact investigation and working with the Montgomery police to notify anyone who may have encountered the officer.
“While this case is concerning, it is not surprising as coronavirus knows no bounds,” county health officer Travis Gayles said in the release. “Please know we are diligently working to keep all our first responders, County employees and residents as safe as possible. As the number of individuals with covid-19 increases across the state, we are unfortunately likely to see more cases among our first responders.”
Montgomery County had counted 68 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Saturday, the health department said.
Metro bus driver tests positive for the coronavirus, and the transit agency cuts service to 20 routes
A Metrobus driver tested positive for the coronavirus, a Metro spokesman said Saturday.
The operator worked out of Metro’s Bladensburg bus division. Additional details were not immediately available.
The announcement by Metro came shortly after the transit agency announced it was further reducing service. Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said the service reduction was not linked to the driver’s diagnosis.
The bus operator is the second publicly known Metro employee who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. On Monday, a Metro Transit police officer tested positive, prompting the temporary evacuation and sanitizing of the District 2 police station in Fairfax County.
Metro sent out an alert Saturday saying it planned to operate just 20 routes starting at 5 p.m. and continuing throughout Sunday.
“Metrobus service will be LIMITED after 5 p.m. today … and all day tomorrow … due to operational challenges,” Metro said in its alert.
The reduction is the transit agency’s fourth cut to transit service this week, largely in part to protect passengers and front-line workers from crowding on vehicles due to the spread of the coronavirus. Stessel said in a text message that the service reduction was due to “mitigation strategies” — or steps taken to reduce the risks of coronavirus transmission. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to give the public much notice and we apologize for that,” Stessel said.
“Tomorrow’s bus service is expected to be limited to the top 20 routes based on ridership.”
Metro had planned to run buses this weekend on its Sunday schedule. The reduction occurring Saturday afternoon will leave about one-fourth of that schedule operating. Metro has 325 total routes.
Local governments may hold public meetings electronically, Va. attorney general says
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has advised local governments that they may conduct public meetings electronically during the coronavirus outbreak, but only if they stick to business related to the emergency.
In an opinion issued Friday night, Herring said Virginia law allows public bodies to meet electronically if “the purpose of the meeting is to address the emergency” and if “failure to do so could result in irrevocable public harm.”
The bodies still must notify the public about the meeting, publish its agenda, record votes and minutes, and provide some means of public access, Herring said.
“This guidance will ensure that local governments and other public bodies can provide services, make decisions, and address Virginians’ needs while remaining open, transparent, and accountable to the public during this unprecedented emergency,” Herring said in a written statement accompanying his opinion.
Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced Herring’s opinion at a Saturday briefing with reporters. “We’re not throwing out public accountability and transparency measures because there is an emergency,” Northam said.
Va. looking to repurpose masks used for mining, quarrying for medical purposes, health secretary says
Virginia’s health secretary on Saturday called the shortage of protective equipment “a national emergency within a national emergency,” as the state looks into giving health care workers masks made for mining and quarrying.
On Friday, Virginia distributed a shipment of personal protective equipment received from the national stockpile, and the state has made a request for more. But it is also looking into whether it can get face masks made for mining and quarry operations, Secretary of Health and Human Resources Daniel Carey said at a Saturday news conference with Gov. Ralph Northam.
“We’ve had industrial suppliers, for example, of personal protective equipment around mining and quarry work that have the same N95, N99 mask — that may look a little different, but they’re perfectly serviceable in a health care environment,” Carey said. “So we’ve had those suppliers contacting us and we’ve been working on that procurement. We’ve even had some manufacturers in Virginia who may be able to make N95 and N99 masks very quickly.”
But Carey noted that potential in-state manufacturing “has not come online” yet and warned that Virginia cannot solve the equipment shortages on its own. “This is a national problem,” Carey said. “This will not be solved without a national solution. Otherwise you’ll have each state grabbing for what they can — and we are, in a responsible way. But we need a national solution.”
Carey suggested the nation needs something on par with the War Powers Act to manufacture and distribute equipment “so that the front-line medical first responders, folks in prisons, etcetera, that are in contact with people who have covid-19 or those that might have it, have the protection they need. So this is a national emergency within a national emergency.”
Elrich suspends parking enforcement near restaurants in Montgomery County to enable pickups, deliveries
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich posted a message on Facebook Saturday saying he had asked the Department of Transportation to stop parking enforcement around all restaurants until pickup zones were put in place.
Elrich noted that officials had been encouraging restaurants to stay open by providing carryout or delivery service, and ticketing vehicles involved in that was counterproductive. County Council Vice President Tom Hucker (D-District 5) said he urged Elrich to end parking enforcement after hearing that customers of The Limerick Pub in Wheaton had received tickets while picking up food.