The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Maryland in March 2020. The first three cases of the virus were reported in Montgomery County on March 5, 2020. As of December 16, 2022, the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) reported 1,303,829 positive cases, 15,575 confirmed deaths, and 4,914,005 are fully vaccinated with the primary vaccination series. County fully vaccinated rates range from 93% in Montgomery County to 52% in Somerset County.
Timeline
In late January 2020, Maryland hospitals began travel screening for coronavirus when taking in new patients entering the emergency room. State health officials announced on January 30, 2020, that the first person tested in Maryland for the novel coronavirus did not have the virus. Fran Phillips, deputy state health secretary for public health services, stated that the risk for Maryland residents of contracting the virus remained low. Maryland medical facilities, educational institutions, and businesses disseminated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Towson University stated that a professor would not return to classes while a family member was tested.
On March 5, Governor Larry Hogan confirmed the first three cases of coronavirus in Montgomery County: one married couple in their 70s and an unrelated woman in her 50s. All three patients were on the same river cruise on the Nile River in Egypt. Upon their return, one of the patients traveled to suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, meeting with students. This prompted the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Central Bucks School District to temporarily close three schools in that district to undergo cleaning. Another patient visited The Village at Rockville retirement community for an event that had between 70 and 100 people. Attendees of the event were told to monitor their temperature and call their physician or the Maryland Emergency Management Agency if they began to exhibit symptoms. All three patients had fully recovered by March 12. Hogan declared a state of emergency after announcing the state's first positive tests.
By March 12, twelve cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in Maryland — two remained hospitalized and three had recovered. Importantly, Maryland confirmed the state's first known case of community transmission in a Prince George's County resident with no known exposure to coronavirus through travel or an infected individual. The first case of community transmission indicates that "we are entering a new phase of working to mitigate and limit the spread of this pandemic," reported Hogan. On March 12, Karen Salmon, Maryland's Superintendent of Schools, announced that all public schools would be closed for two weeks beginning March 16. Hogan raised the state's emergency activation system to activate the Maryland National Guard and banned gatherings of more than 250 people. The National Guard was activated to a higher state of readiness. Hogan delegated routine state government operations to Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford so he could allocate more time to combating the virus.
Hogan ordered all of the state's casinos, racetracks, and off-track betting to cease operations on March 15, with the shutdown beginning on March 16 at 12:01 am. In addition, Hogan also warned in a statement that bars and restaurants are to follow the ban of gatherings of over 250 people in advance of St. Patrick's Day celebrations. He stated that if any bar or restaurant failed to comply with the restrictions set, they would be charged with a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of one year in jail and/or up to $5,000 in fines.
In the afternoon, the Howard County Health Department announced the county's first confirmed coronavirus case: an 82-year-old woman with an underlying condition who resided at the Lorien Elkridge, a nursing home in Elkridge. The MDH initiated the process of contacting and notifying all staff, residents, and family members about the possible exposure to COVID-19 in the nursing home. Six medics were exposed to the woman not knowing that she was a COVID-19 patient; all six medics went into self-quarantine, according to the Howard County fire chief. This case brings the total number of positive cases to 32 for the state.
Hogan held a press conference in the late morning of March 16, where he announced an executive order that would require all bars, restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters in the state to close at 5:00 pm. Restaurants with delivery, drive-thru, and carry out services are exempt from closing completely.
On the morning of March 17, the MDH confirmed 20 additional positive cases in the state, including the first case in Frederick County. Only two of the three cases announced by Howard County on March 16 were added to the MDH's total figure for the day. The additional case announced by Baltimore Mayor Jack Young was also not included in the totals. The official figure from the MDH was now 57. Hogan announced an executive order that postponed the Maryland primary elections. A series of restrictions and cuts surrounding transportation were also announced on March 17.
For the first time since the Civil War, the Maryland General Assembly's annual session ended early, due to coronavirus concerns. The session, which usually runs for 90 days, was ended three weeks earlier than normal on March 18. In the time before the session was hurriedly ended, many coronavirus legislation measures were passed, including the authorization to draw up to $100 million from the "rainy day" fund and extending temporary unemployment benefits for workers who are either quarantined or whose jobs are closed temporarily. The Assembly also passed legislation that makes price gouging and firing workers for being quarantined illegal in the state. All legislation would have to be signed by Governor Hogan to be made law, but would take effect immediately.
A Prince George's County man in his 60s was announced to be the first death in Maryland on March 18. The man contracted the coronavirus through community transmission and had an underlying health problem.
On the morning of March 19, Hogan announced that all shopping centers and entertainment venues were to close as of 5:00 pm that day, stating "This is a race against time" and he's doing everything he can to "avoid shutting down society". He also announced access to the Baltimore/Washington International Airport terminals would be restricted to employees, ticketed passengers, and visitors assisting disabled passengers. On March 23, Hogan ordered all non-essential businesses in the state to close effective at 5:00 pm Monday to prevent further spread of COVID-19. He also announced initiatives to provide relief to small businesses and employees.
On March 25, the Maryland Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Karen B. Salmon, announced the extension of the Maryland school closure from March 30 to April 26, adding on an extra 4 weeks to the school cancellation.
On March 29, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland continued to rise, reaching over 1,000. Deaths also continued. On March 30, Governor Hogan issued a mandatory stay-at-home order, effective beginning at 8:00 pm EDT that evening. The Governor also required all individuals who have recently traveled out of the state to self quarantine for 14 days. Violation of the order would be punishable by a prison sentence of up to one year and/or a $5,000 fine. A wireless alert was also sent to all mobile devices in the state. Virginia's Governor Ralph Northam and the District of Columbia's Mayor Muriel Bowser issued similar orders on the same day (see COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia and in Washington, D.C.).
On April 2, Maryland confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpassed 2,000 to at least 2,331, 346 new from the previous day; five more people had died, bringing the state's death toll to 36. Of the total confirmed cases, 71% were patients younger than 60. In a request to the federal government, Maryland state asked for more than a million masks, gloves and face shields, and 15,000 body bags. Per released FEMA documents, the state received 138 of 200 requested ventilators, about a third of the 778,129 face masks it requested, just 110,240 of the 421,532 N95 respirator masks it sought, well fewer than half of the 330,540 requested gloves and none of the 100,000 testing swabs it hoped to acquire to test for the virus, nor their requested body bags. "Overall, the oversight committee said FEMA had distributed fewer than 10% of the N95 masks and less than 1% of gloves sought collectively by Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia."
On April 15, Governor Hogan announced an executive order requiring masks or face coverings in all Maryland grocery stores and pharmacies and on public transportation, effective on April 18, 7:00 AM. On April 17, State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Salmon, after extensive consultation with the State Board of Education and leading public health experts in the state, extended the closure of schools through May 15. On April 18, Governor Larry Hogan announced the state had purchased 500,000 test kits for $9.46 million from South Korea. A Korean Air jet arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Airport with the delivery from LabGenomics. However they turned out to be flawed and were never used. The Hogan administration quietly paid the same South Korean company another $2.5 million for 500,000 replacement tests. On April 24, Hogan announced his "Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery" to slowly lift restrictions and open businesses. The roadmap is a three-stage plan using federal guidelines, National Governors Association guidance, and AEI and Johns Hopkins reports.
On May 1, Hogan announced a Centers for Disease Control field team was dispatched to Wicomico County to increase testing in the area due to the increase of COVID-19 among poultry workers. Wicomico County had the fourth highest COVID-19 case rate in the state, per capita, higher than both Baltimore Baltimore City and County. A two-day drive thru testing site was set up at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium to focus on poultry workers.
On May 6, Hogan announced that effective May 7, safe outdoor activities are allowed such as golf, tennis, boating, fishing, camping, and other activities, although he cautioned that it was still "critical for Marylanders to continue practicing physical distancing." Additionally, the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) issued guidelines to allow elective procedures to resume at the discretion of local hospitals and health care providers. State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen Salmon announced the closure of all Maryland Public Schools for the remainder of the 2019 - 2020 academic school year. On May 15, effective at 5:00 pm the "stay-at-home" order was lifted and limited non-essential businesses reopened. However, some jurisdictions continued their "stay-at-home" restrictions including Baltimore City, Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.
On June 3, Hogan announced Stage 2 of the reopening plan would be effective June 5 at 5:00 pm. On July 29, Hogan expanded his previous face covering order. Effective July 31 at 5:00 pm everyone older than 5 years old must wear face coverings inside all buildings where the public has access, on any public transportation, outside when unable to socially distance, obtaining healthcare services, engaged in work in any area where interaction with others is likely (including commercial office space), and where food is prepared and/or packaged.