11.23.20 – WBOC
Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday announced a “heightened visibility” operation to enforce Maryland’s COVID-19 measures.
At a press conference in Annapolis, the governor was joined by Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt, Maryland State Police Superintendent Jerry Jones and Restaurant Association of Maryland President & CEO Marshall Weston.
Hogan noted that a public health advisory remains in effect, discouraging any indoor gatherings of 25 people or more, as well as an expanded travel advisory advising against any nonessential travel to states with high COVID-19 positivity rates.
This came as Maryland continued to see high numbers of new COVID-19 cases through the weekend. Earlier Monday, officials reported nearly 1,700 new cases, 39 more hospitalizations and 14 more deaths.
“Fortunately, many people are following that advice: a survey by AAA found that nearly 90% of Marylanders are not planning to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday,” Hogan said.
Hogan also said limitations have been reinstated regarding visitation of hospitals and nursing homes, and Maryland’s statewide masking order remains in effect.
The governor once again encouraged Marylanders to avoid large gatherings and non-essential travel and reiterated the importance of wearing masks.
The governor said the typical practice of college students going out to the bars the Wednesday before Thanksgiving would be “reckless” this year.
Hogan said 57% complaints that have been registered have been about compliance issues at restaurants, bars and businesses.
“We can’t let a few bad actors spoil it for the others who have been doing such a great job,” he said.
Hogan also announced an education and enforcement operation to involve Maryland State Police. According to the governor, MSP is expanding its COVID-19 Compliance and Coordination Center and deploying “High Visibility Compliance Units” across the state.
Additional troopers will be assigned in every county to work in partnership with locals to investigate any reports of violations of state law.
Starting Wednesday, in addition to their normal Thanksgiving holiday drunken driving patrols, state troopers will support local law enforcement agencies with COVID-19 safety compliance checks, with a focus on educating the public about existing orders and protocols, preventing super-spreading events, and assisting in enforcement actions when necessary.
Hogan also announced that the state will also launch a public health PSA program, with the PSAs running on local television stations.
“We want all of our families across the state to enjoy the holidays. But we want them to do it in a safe way,” Hogan said. “While the way we celebrate this year, may be different. We still have so much to be thankful for.”
COVID-19 Statistics in Maryland
Number of confirmed cases : 183,797
Number of persons tested negative : 2,054,695
Total testing volume : 4,171,674
Number of confirmed deaths : 4,293
Number of probable deaths : 155
Currently hospitalized : 1,276
Acute care : 987
Intensive care : 289
Ever hospitalized : 19,769
Released from isolation : 8,511
Cases and Deaths Data Breakdown:
Parenthesis = Confirmed death, laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 test result
Asterisk = Probable death, death certificate lists COVID-19 as the cause of death but not yet confirmed by a laboratory test
NH = Non-Hispanic
By County
| County | Cases | Deaths | |
| Allegany | 2,493 | (55) | |
| Anne Arundel | 15,587 | (284) | 12* |
| Baltimore City | 22,932 | (523) | 20* |
| Baltimore County | 27,223 | (682) | 24* |
| Calvert | 1,480 | (31) | 1* |
| Caroline | 878 | (9) | |
| Carroll | 3,052 | (131) | 3* |
| Cecil | 1,890 | (37) | 1* |
| Charles | 4,065 | (102) | 2* |
| Dorchester | 968 | (15) | |
| Frederick | 6,198 | (138) | 8* |
| Garrett | 504 | (4) | |
| Harford | 5,537 | (85) | 5* |
| Howard | 7,488 | (129) | 6* |
| Kent | 410 | (24) | 2* |
| Montgomery | 31,389 | (890) | 42* |
| Prince George’s | 38,985 | (882) | 25* |
| Queen Anne’s | 1,027 | (26) | 1* |
| St. Mary’s | 1,949 | (61) | |
| Somerset | 743 | (8) | |
| Talbot | 761 | (7) | |
| Washington | 3,651 | (60) | |
| Wicomico | 3,172 | (56) | |
| Worcester | 1,415 | (35) | 1* |
| Data not available | (19) | 2* |
By Age Range and Gender
| Age/Gender | Cases | Deaths | |
| 0-9 | 7,513 | ||
| 10-19 | 16,354 | (3) | |
| 20-29 | 35,062 | (26) | 1* |
| 30-39 | 32,956 | (53) | 6* |
| 40-49 | 28,952 | (139) | 3* |
| 50-59 | 27,079 | (350) | 17* |
| 60-69 | 17,948 | (689) | 14* |
| 70-79 | 10,330 | (1,072) | 30* |
| 80+ | 7,603 | (1,959) | 84* |
| Data not available | (2) | ||
| Female | 96,700 | (2,099) | 78* |
| Male | 87,097 | (2,194) | 77* |
By Race and Ethnicity
| Race/Ethnicity | Cases | Deaths | |
| African-American (NH) | 55,302 | (1,705) | 57* |
| Asian (NH) | 3,587 | (156) | 6* |
| White (NH) | 53,914 | (1,880) | 77* |
| Hispanic | 35,967 | (476) | 13* |
| Other (NH) | 8,434 | (49) | |
| Data not available | 26,593 | (27) | 2* |