WASHINGTON — It’s Thursday, December 17, and as I write this Congress has about 35 hours to pass both a second coronavirus stimulus package and a temporary funding bill to prevent a partial government shutdown Friday at midnight.
Let’s all wish them godspeed.
You may recall that back on March 27, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – known colloquially as the CARES Act. The act provided money for a $1,200 stimulus check to most Americans, a $260 billion increase in unemployment benefits, established the Paycheck Protection Program and allocated $340 billion for state and local governments.
That was 265 days ago. Since then, despite repeated pleas for more aid from state and local leaders, Congress has remained deadlocked on a second stimulus bill. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has made chiding Congress to act a common refrain in his weekly press conferences, and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said this week it was time for Congress to “step up.”
Hogan, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also penned a joint letter to President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday asking his administration to provide more funding to shore up “major budget shortfalls” in WMATA.
Congress is scheduled to recess for the rest of the year on Friday. If they do so without passing a second stimulus bill, unemployment benefits for more than 10 million Americans will run out after Christmas and states and localities could lose access to any unspent CARES Act dollars.
In more productive news Thursday, the FDA’s Advisor Committee was scheduled to review – and expected to approve – the Moderna coronavirus vaccine. If then approved by the FDA, the Moderna vaccine could begin shipping as early as next week. Doses of the Pfizer vaccine are already being administered in the DMV and around the country.
In case you’re just here for the numbers, here’s where the DMV stands today:
- D.C. reported 228 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday and 5 new deaths.
- Maryland reported 2,217 new cases of the coronavirus and 49 new deaths. The state has now been averaging more than 40 deaths a day from COVID-19 for three days straight.
- Virginia reported 3,853 new cases of the virus on Thursday and 45 new deaths. The commonwealth is now averaging 31 deaths from the coronavirus a day – up 93% from two weeks ago.
How are things in the DMV?
In case you missed yesterday’s blog, if you live in the D.C. metro area – but not D.C. itself – there’s a good chance you’re now under new coronavirus restrictions. That includes no more indoor dining in Maryland’s two largest counties, Montgomery and Prince George’s.
Staying in Maryland for a moment, the state has seen an alarming spike in coronavirus deaths this week. In the past three days alone, 174 people in the state have died from the virus. On average, more than 40 Marylanders a die are now dying from COVID-19.
The daily death rate from the virus in Virginia has nearly doubled as well over the past two weeks. As of Thursday, the commonwealth was averaging 31 deaths a day from COVID-19. If deaths continue increasing at the pace they have been, Virginia could join Maryland in having more than 5,000 deaths from the virus by the end of the year.
The average positivity of coronavirus tests in Virginia continues to rise as well. As of Thursday, that number was up to 11.6%. That’s where the commonwealth was on May 27 – before it entered Phase I of reopening.