ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Hours after the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged governors to pause or reverse reopening efforts, Maryland’s top health official said the state has no plans to reimpose restrictions on retail or restaurants, as coronavirus cases rise.
Governor Larry Hogan (R) ended the state’s commercial capacity restrictions on March 12, Maryland’s low point for COVID-19 hospitalizations this year.
Since then, state data show hospitalizations have increased each day, from 765 beds in use on March 12, to 1,039 beds in use on Monday. While the state’s number of cases, hospitalizations, and percent positivity rate are all rising, covid deaths remain relatively low.
Maryland recorded an average of 14 deaths per day on Sunday, compared with a pandemic-high average of 56 deaths per day in April 2020.
During a public Zoom with state senators Monday, Maryland acting Health Secretary Dennis R. Schrader called the state’s reopening decision “prudent,” citing social distancing and mask mandates remaining in effect.
“Even though we reopened, we’ve been very cautious,” Schrader said. “We have people wearing masks, and social distancing is still a requirement. So, you might reopen a facility, but if you’re doing social distancing, that has a dampening effect on capacity.”
Schrader said younger people are driving the state’s rising infection rate, illustrating how Maryland’s cases are rising as deaths remain low.
Yet earlier Monday morning, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky cited young people on spring break, COVID fatigue, and states ending restrictions as giving her a sense of “impending doom.” The country has “so much reason for hope,” she said in an earnest and impassioned plea. “But right now, I’m scared.”
“I am asking you to just hold on a little longer, to get vaccinated when you can, so that all of those people that we all love will still be here when this pandemic ends,” Walensky added.
Sen. Clarence K. Lam (D-Howard County) expressed marked skepticism with Maryland’s reopening, fearing elevated cases driven by young people could lead to significant setbacks.
“The younger population we’ve seen, also ends up infecting the older population, and that’s where most of the deaths have been occurring,” Lam said. “I’m concerned that we’re reopening faster than we can vaccinate.”