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June 18, 2025

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News Maryland News

Hogan Announces End of COVID-19 State of Emergency in Maryland

June 16, 2021 by Maryland Matters

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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced the forthcoming end of the Maryland public health emergency on Tuesday — one year, 3 months and 10 days since the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed have reached the state.

“With all of this amazing progress and thanks, in large part, to the hard work, sacrifices and the vigilance of the people in Maryland, we have finally reached the light at the end of that long tunnel,” Hogan said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

On March 5, 2020, Hogan announced three positive cases of COVID-19, initiating the beginning of the state of emergency.

After 461,392 positive cases, 9,742 deaths and 18 executive renewals, the state of emergency will officially end July 1, doing away with suspended state regulations and mask mandates.

Private business owners and other facilities reserve the right to require patrons to be masked inside of their establishments.

“But there will not be any legal mandate from the state for wearing masks at any location anywhere in the state,” said Hogan, who added that masking will not be required at public schools, summer camps and childcare facilities.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether local school systems will be able to maintain stricter mask requirements.

The governor also announced Tuesday that the state will be extending a 45-day grace period for residents to update documents, like driver’s licenses, and the eviction moratorium.

Both of these grace periods will end on Aug. 15.

“Every single day since that day, last March, together, we have faced immense and unprecedented challenges,” Hogan said. “We’ve been through so much over the past 15 months. But just look at how far we’ve come together to reach this hopeful point.”

Hogan reflected on the state’s success in creating an infrastructure to fight the virus, from reopening closed hospitals to standing up a network of thousands of contact tracers to slow the virus’ spread.

According to the Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard, more than 3.1 million Marylanders have been fully vaccinated.

More than 6.5 million doses have been administered, “not only meeting but exceeding our goal of reaching 70% of all adults [at least partially] vaccinated by Memorial Day,” Hogan said.

While he announced the end of the state of emergency, Hogan implored unvaccinated Marylanders to get the vaccine, stressing that as things return to normal people are still at risk of contracting the virus and its variants.

“At this point, there’s simply no excuse for not getting vaccinated,” he said. “Vaccines are safe, they’re effective and they’re readily available everywhere.”

By Hannah Gaskill

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: coronavirus, Covid-19, driver's licenses, gov. hogan, mandates, Maryland, masks, pandemic, schools, state of emergency

Hogan Renews State of Emergency as COVID Cases Inch Upward

October 31, 2020 by Maryland Matters

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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) renewed the state’s COVID-19 State of Emergency on Friday, a day that saw the nation surpass 9 million cases of the often-deadly virus.  

It’s the 10th renewal the governor has issued since the coronavirus crisis hit Maryland in late winter — and it comes as many of the state’s metrics suggest a third wave of COVID-19 infections has begun. 

“This crisis is far from over, and this virus does not recognize state borders,” Hogan said in a statement. “I want to remind Marylanders that the only way to keep our state open for business is to avoid traveling to hotspots and continue following the public health guidelines. We cannot let our guard down, and we must remain vigilant.”

According to a New York Times analysis of national COVID-19 data, 38 states — including neighboring Pennsylvania and Delaware — have coronavirus infection rates that are “high and getting higher.” 

Maryland is one of just nine states (along with the District of Columbia) where the spread is said to be “lower but going up.”

Public health experts across the country have warned that the U.S. — like Europe — can expect to see a significant increase in infections and hospitalizations as the weather cools, the days grow shorter and people spend more time indoors.

Having endured a huge spike in April and a second wave in July, Maryland’s latest numbers appear to show the outlines of a third increase: 

Hospitalizations: The state’s seven-day average daily hospitalization rate is now 470, up from 318 on Sept. 25, an increase of 48%.

(The state hit its first peak on May 6, with a rolling average of 1,674 people receiving hospital care; the second peak occurred on Aug. 3, at 569.)

The state Department of Health reported 513 people hospitalized on Friday, an 83% increase from Sept. 20, when the count stood at 281. ICU bed usage was up 85% during that same period, from 68 to 126.

Deaths: Maryland experiences far fewer deaths than many other states, a range of between three and 11 per day, a rate that has held steady for many weeks. Still, a Washington Post analysis found that the state’s death rate has increased 14% in the past week. 

In extending the state’s health emergency order on Friday, Hogan acknowledged the troubling metrics.

“While Maryland’s positivity and case rates remain lower than most states in America, we are closely monitoring increases in some of our key health metrics as well as rising numbers in states across the country,” he said. 

Can Maryland avoid the massive spikes in new cases that have gripped much of the Midwest and Plains? 

It’s hard to know, of course. But if so, it will be likely be because the Mid-Atlantic was hard hit early-on in the pandemic, said Dr. Jeffrey Elting, the former head of bioterrorism response for the Washington, D.C., Hospital Association.

“Perhaps the most susceptible people, unfortunately, have already had it pass through them,” said Elting, a former White House physician. “Maybe there’s more asymptomatic infections that have been out there and maybe there’s some antibody levels that give people some protection that we just don’t know about yet.” 

He said the people he encounters seem to have taken the urgings of public health experts to heart. 

“People wash their hands a lot more nowadays. They practice a degree of social distancing, which is all good. People wear masks,” Elting said.  

“Most of the people that I see are pretty conscientious and focused and well-informed. Some places, people may not be.” 

By Bruce DePuyt

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Maryland News Tagged With: coronavirus, Covid-19, Gov. Larry Hogan, Health, Maryland, pandemic, state of emergency, virus

Gov. Larry Hogan Declares State of Emergency, Expands Statewide Response to Novel Coronavirus

March 5, 2020 by Spy Desk

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Governor Larry Hogan announced Thursday night the state’s first positive cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and declared a state of emergency to ramp up Maryland’s coordinated response across all levels of government.

“In order to further mobilize all available state resources in response to this threat to public health, I have issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency in Maryland,” said Governor Hogan. “With this declaration, I am officially authorizing and directing the Maryland Department of Health and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency to ramp up coordination among all state and local agencies and enable them to fast-track coordination with our state and local health departments and emergency management teams.”

This afternoon, Maryland’s State Public Health Laboratory in Baltimore confirmed three positive cases in Montgomery County. The patients, who contracted the virus while traveling overseas, are in good condition and are in quarantine at their homes.

Earlier this week, the Hogan administration introduced emergency legislation granting the governor the authority to transfer resources from the state’s rainy day fund for Maryland’s novel coronavirus response. Additionally, the governor submitted a supplemental budget today for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) that requests $10 million for emergency coronavirus preparedness expenses.

“While today’s news may seem overwhelming, this is not a reason to panic,” continued the governor. “Marylanders should go to work or go to school tomorrow just as they normally would. At the same time, I want to continue to remind everyone to prepare themselves and continue to stay informed. I am confident in our state’s ability to respond effectively to these three cases of coronavirus as well as to any future cases, and to be a national leader in responding to this situation and in developing treatments and perhaps even a vaccine.”

Information and updates about COVID-19 in Maryland are available at health.maryland.gov/coronavirus.

At this time, there is no vaccine for COVID-19. Prevention measures center on frequent hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and separating people who have respiratory symptoms.

Treatment for COVID-19, as with any coronavirus infection like the common cold, includes the use of over-the-counter fever-relievers, drinking plenty of fluids and resting at home to help relieve symptoms. Those with more severe symptoms may be hospitalized to provide additional support.

While much remains unknown about COVID-19, the CDC reports that people who are elderly and who have chronic health conditions appear to be at higher risk for infection. These chronic conditions may include cancer, diabetes, heart disease or any issue that lowers the body’s immunity to germs.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Health Homepage Highlights, Maryland News Tagged With: coronavirus, Maryland, state of emergency

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