MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — The leaders of Maryland’s seven largest counties and Baltimore City issued a joint call on Wednesday for Marylanders to come together for the “final battle” against the coronavirus – even as cases and hospitalizations in the state surge to record highs.
The call came as part of a regular regional Zoom conference between officials in the state’s most populous counties. On Wednesday, however – citing the situation in the state – the call was opened to the press and public.
Along with health officials, on the call were:
- Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman
- Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski
- Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott
- Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner
- Harford County Executive Barry Glassman
- Howard County Executive Calvin Ball
- Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich
- Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks
Framing the call was the new record high number of COVID-19 hospitalizations Maryland set on Wednesday – 1,715 people hospitalized in the state for treatment of the coronavirus, including more than 400 in ICU beds.
“We all believe that we’re facing a pivotal moment in what we hope will be the final battle against this virus,” said Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman.
The county leaders, who collectively represent 75% of Maryland’s population, offered a united message for residents: stay strong and continue following restrictions until there’s enough vaccine to go around.
“Even with all we’re doing, the virus is still spreading,” Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said. “It is not contained at this point.”
Prince George’s County reported its 45,000th case of the coronavirus on Wednesday. The state’s largest county is now averaging more than 450 new cases of the virus a day. Alsobrooks said much of that growth has come from people who continue holding social gatherings.
“We are now in a position where we are receiving numbers regarding Thanksgiving, and what it’s telling us is that those personal gatherings are very, very dangerous,” Alsobrooks said.
To the north, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said he had sent proposed new restrictions to the county council on Wednesday as a further step to try to curb the virus. Those restrictions include:
- Closing indoor dining
- Limiting the capacity in large retail stores to one person per 200 feet, with a total limit of 150 persons
- Limiting non-professional indoor sports to 10 people
“Until [vaccines] are widespread, the only control we have over the spread of this virus is our own behavior,” Elrich said. “We saw the effectiveness of the steps we took at the beginning of this pandemic, and I believe we need to revisit some of those steps.”
Business owners anticipated the move to end indoor dining if coronavirus cases continued to surge. Matt Cronin, co-owner of Astro Lab Brewing in Silver Spring, said Montgomery County provided his brewery a $5,000 grant for outdoor heaters.
But he added substantial aid from Congress would be needed during the expected post-holiday lull to help his business survive.
"We're having to shave off staff, all the time," Cronin said. "We went from basically 15, down to three full-time staff, to three part-time."
On the vaccine front, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan held a news conference of his own on Tuesday to lay out the state’s most detailed vaccine plan to date. That appearance included news that the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine could reach Maryland as early as next week. Those doses will go to health care workers and staff and residents of long-term care facilities first, followed by vulnerable populations and first responders.