December 1, 2020: Governor Hogan Press Conference
Governor Hogan:
- Cares act funding will run out at end of Dec.
- Calls for passage of Stage 4 stimulus relief package
- Federal priority
- Discussion w/ WH Coronavirus Task Force,
- Vaccine production, distribution (federal discussion)
- MD COVID Task Force, CEOs of hospital systems across MD, leadership of Maryland Association of Counties
- 201,335 confirmed cases
- 2,765 cases in past 24 hrs.
- 27 straight days w/ 1,000+ cases
- 7.33% 7-day positivity rate
- 34.4 per 100,000 cases
- Statewide positivity rate better than 41 states
- Cases per 100,000 better than 39 states
- 14th best state for residents voluntarily staying in the state
- Carnegie Mellon study: MD 96% compliant w/ wearing masks
- Hospitalizations increase by 51% over the past two weeks
- Expect new record high for hospitalization of the next few days
- 130 surge beds in use
- 1,583 COVID patients hospitalized today
- Highest level since May 10
- 350 in ICU
- 21 hospitals reached > 90% capacity
- 4,516 deaths in MD
- Surge measures to date
- 6k beds, expanded manpower
- Fast-tracked licensing process for out-of-state healthcare practitioners, expired medical licenses
- Activated Maryland Responds Reserved Medical Corps
- Adding alternate care site capacity
- Staffing support for nursing homes
- Limiting hospital visits
- Enabling overburdened hospitals to transfer patients
- Early exit encouraged for qualified healthcare students
- Counties encouraged to tap school nurses, health services staff, other employees for help with vaccines
- Hospitals and nursing homes urged to free up nursing staff
- Seeking Marylanders with clinical backgrounds to volunteer, help w/ medical care to serve, gave website marylandmednow.com
- Request MD universities, colleges to develop emergency policy and procedures to award academic credit to students who want to serve in healthcare during pandemic
- Allow healthcare students in final semester, satisfied all grad requirements to be eligible for early exit, expedited testing and licensing requirements to join work force
- Hospitals required to submit a surge plan no later than 12/8
- Includes detailed strategy for expansion of hospital beds and staffing capacity adjustments
- Hospitals should immediately begin making adjustments on an emergency basis including adding or redeploying staff, reducing noncritical elective procedures, transferring patients
- When we reach 8000 total hospitalizations statewide, all hospitals required to expand staff to bed capacity by at least 10% within 7 days
Dr. David Marcozzi, University of Maryland Medical System
- Thanksgiving holiday gave way to more spread, more positive cases
- “No ceiling” to virus
- Cases, hospitalizations, deaths will keep rising unless we make a change
- Importance of seeing doctor, nurse practitioners
- Stay physically & mentally healthy
- Potential staffing constraints
- Colleges should investigate giving school credit to those who want to help
- Get vaccine when available
Responses to Questions
- Decisions as necessary, hospitals, healthcare providers at the forefront, focal point
- Ideas on what students can do
- A: health science students and how they can be brought into health care services (give shots, swab)
- Looking for 2k-3k people to step into roles
- When are more restrictions coming?
- A: will take them as we see fit
- Relief still isn’t enough; CARES Act money about to expire, but will take what we can get now
- One month from now?
- A: conversation w/ hospital CEOs; will continue to get worse over next few weeks, worse part still ahead of us
- Travel over the holiday; message to them?
- A: 90% didn’t travel; those who did should get tested before going around other people
