COVID State Of Emergency Declared, National Guard Activated As Omicron Variant Floods MD

HANOVER, MD — Gov. Larry Hogan declared a COVID-19 state of emergency Tuesday to battle the omicron variant. He also activated the Maryland National Guard to meet the increased testing demand.

"It’s important for Marylanders to go back to using common sense and doing the things that will keep us safe: avoiding crowds, keeping your distance, washing your hands, and yes—once again—wearing the damn masks," Hogan said at a Hanover press conference.

The governor did not, however, reinstate a statewide mask mandate or reimplement business capacity restrictions. Face coverings are once again required in state government buildings, but they are not necessary everywhere in Maryland.

Local governments are free to institute more restrictive mask guidelines, but they may not be more lenient than the state. Areas that currently have temporary indoor face covering orders include:

• Anne Arundel County
• Baltimore City
• Baltimore County
• Frederick County
• Howard County
• Montgomery County
• Prince George's County

Hogan's state of emergency will last 30 days unless he extends it. The declaration let the governor mobilize 1,000 guardsmen.

About 250 of these citizen soldiers will support testing sites at hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. They will also help with patient transport as needed.

Guard members will additionally staff Maryland's two new test sites at Annapolis and Bel Air hospitals. These facilities offer free walk-up testing daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Annapolis location is in the Anne Arundel Medical Center. The Bel Air site is at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health.

The National Guard will also open 20 testing sites outside Maryland hospitals. Hogan hopes this will prevent people from visiting already-swamped emergency rooms for coronavirus tests.

The governor similarly signed an executive order to alleviate some stress on hospitals. This gives Dennis Schrader, the Maryland Department of Health secretary, the power to:

• Direct and expedite the transfer of patients between hospitals
• Establish additional alternate care facilities
• Allow interstate reciprocity for health care licenses
• Allow inactive health care practitioners to practice without needing to reinstate their expired license
• Authorize graduate nurses to work at any health care facility and provide full nursing services
• Allow health care practitioners to practice outside the scope of their license
• Regulate elective medical procedures as necessary
• Issue directives to control and monitor COVID-19 in nursing homes and similar facilities

Hogan signed another executive order that grants similar licensing leeway for emergency medical services. This will expand the workforce available to first responders.

"All of the emergency actions we are taking today are to keep our hospitals from overflowing, to keep our kids in school, and to keep Maryland open for business," the governor said in a press release. "We will continue to take whatever actions are necessary in the very difficult days and weeks ahead."

These updates come as hospitals flood with COVID-19 patients. The highly contagious, but milder, omicron variant has driven the state to a record-high 3,057 hospitalizations. That's up more than 500 percent in the last 7 weeks.

Hogan said the next four to six weeks will be the toughest of the pandemic. He predicted that hospitalizations could pass 5,000. That would be more than 250 percent higher than the previous peak.

The governor encouraged vaccines and booster shots, citing these statistics:

• 75 percent of Marylanders who tested positive for COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated
• 84 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations were people who were not fully vaccinated
• 84 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Maryland were not fully vaccinated

Hogan reminded residents that booster shots are now available for adolescents aged 12 to 15. The governor incentivized boosters Monday by offering two hours of paid leave to state employees who get the extra dose.

The state is still working on first doses for kids aged 5 to 11. About a third of this age bracket has gotten an inoculation.

Hogan also announced that Maryland adults who got the Pfizer immunization can get any booster shot five months after their initial two doses. That group previously had to wait six months. The governor urged federal officials to consider shortening that time period further for those in nursing homes.

To get a coronavirus test, visit covidtest.maryland.gov. Head to covidvax.maryland.gov to book a COVID-19 vaccine. The state's health metrics are updated daily at coronavirus.maryland.gov.

CORRECTION: This story previously said Marylanders can get a booster shot five months after their initial two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna immunizations. That was not entirely correct.

Residents 18 and up who got the Pfizer inoculation can get a booster shot of any kind five months after their initial two doses. Locals 12 to 17 who got the Pfizer must also wait five months, but they are only eligible for the Pfizer booster.

Locals 18 and up must wait six months after their Moderna injections or two months after their Johnson & Johnson vaccines to get a booster shot. Once that time passes, they can get any booster they want.

The latest booster shot guidance is posted here.

RELATED:

• MD COVID: Mask Up In State Offices, Get Paid Leave For Booster
• Face Mask Mandate Reinstated By Anne Arundel, Annapolis Leaders
• Anne Arundel Schools Amend COVID Quarantine Rules As CDC Outlined
• Anne Arundel Medical Center To Open Free COVID-19 Testing Site
• COVID-19 Hospitalizations In MD Hit Record High, Along With Cases
• CDC Shortens Isolation, Quarantine Time: What It Means In MD
• Some Surgeries Delayed At Anne Arundel, Prince George's Hospitals

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