Baltimore City Joins Baltimore County In Response To Reopening

BALTIMORE, MD — Leaders in Baltimore City and Baltimore County have united in their response to Gov. Larry Hogan's lifting of the stay-at-home order, which takes effect Friday.

Baltimore Mayor Jack Young and Baltimore County Executive Olszewski said in a joint statement they have not yet decided how to proceed.

"We are taking a close look at the specific actions announced today, and we will determine our next steps in the next 24 hours," the two said in their statement Wednesday.

UPDATE:

• Baltimore County Opens Some Businesses, Others Stay Closed
• Stay-At-Home Order Remains In Baltimore: Mayor

The shift to stage one of Hogan's recovery plan would allow retailers, factories and churches to reopen, with some conditions, such as wearing masks inside, posting signs telling people not to come in if they are sick and operating at 50 percent capacity.

The governor said his recovery plan offers a "flexible, community-based approach" that empowers local leaders to control the timing of the reopening in their individual jurisdictions.

"Our top priority is to protect the health and well-being of our people," Young and Olszewski said. "As Governor Hogan has acknowledged, there is not a statewide, one-size fits all approach to achieving that goal, and just four jurisdictions have 72 percent of the state’s COVID-19 cases."

Of the 34,812 confirmed cases of the virus in Maryland, here are the jurisdictions with the most residents who have tested positive, according to state health officials:

• Prince George's County: 10,072
• Montgomery County: 7,283
• Baltimore County: 4,160
• Baltimore City: 3,476

In the past seven days, Young said 724 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in Baltimore.

"Everyone needs to stay home, unless you are going out for an essential reason. If you must go out for an essential reason, everyone should be wearing a face mask," Young said at a news conference Wednesday morning. "Every time you leave your house, you put yourself and everyone else at risk."

Previously, Hogan said four pieces of public health infrastructure would be required to support the state as it transitions from coronavirus response to recovery: increased testing capacity, expanded hospital surge capacity, a robust contact tracing operation and ramp-up of personal protective equipment (PPE).

"For the Baltimore region to safely move into all of Phase One, we need more access to personal protective equipment, as well as increased testing capacity and more robust contact tracing. We’ve seen some progress in each of these areas, but we have to do even more," Young and Olszewski said.

"We acknowledge that this will not be welcome news to all of our residents," they said. "However, rushing to reopen in our large, densely populated jurisdictions jeopardizes the lives of our neighbors and loved ones."

Young said at a news conference Tuesday: "We don't feel comfortable right now to really open up, so we are going to continue to follow the advice of our health professionals, and when they say it's time for us to relax some things, we'll do it."

In the meantime, individuals and businesses making "real sacrifices" were "preventing the spread of a deadly virus," the leaders said.

In Baltimore City, 177 people have died from the virus, according to state health data, as of Wednesday. In Baltimore County, 203 people have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

There is no vaccine for the new coronavirus, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports is spread from person to person. "The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus," according to the CDC.

In addition to minimizing contact, the CDC advises washing hands frequently with soap and warm water, staying 6 feet from one another and disinfecting high-touch surfaces.

"As we work towards re-opening as soon and as safely as we can, we continue to urge residents to stay at home, wear a mask in public spaces and to remain socially-distanced if they go out," Young and Olszewski said. "We will continue to be there for each other, and we will get through this together."

See Also:

• Phase One Of Reopening From Coronavirus To Begin: MD Governor
• Local Leaders 'Don't Feel Comfortable' Reopening: Baltimore Mayor
• MD Coronavirus Deaths Near 1,700 As Hogan Looks Toward Reopening