Around Maryland

A day after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced masks were no longer required outdoors in the state, a host of key coronavirus metrics, including hospitalizations and testing positivity, continued to decline. Maryland has recorded fewer than 1,000 cases for four of the last seven daysbut has averaged 1,047 new cases daily for the last two weeks.  The 14-day average is about 300 cases lower than a spring high April 17 and down from a pandemic peak of 2,949 Jan. 12, during a post-holiday surge of the virus.

Baltimore City CEO Sonja Santelises is proposing a small increase in her school system operating budget for next year, but an infusion of some $700 million in federal funds over the next four years will help defray pandemic related costs. The $1.18 billion general fund budget would increase spending by only $10 million over this year even as the school system tries to return to normal next school year, saying it intends to have students come back full time, five days a week.

Three Maryland locations have been added to the state’s list of places where people can drive-thru and get COVID-19 vaccinations without appointments. The locations are the mass vaccination sites at Six Flags America in Prince George’s County, Regency Furniture Stadium in Charles County and Ripken Stadium in Harford County. People can now get vaccinated at nine sites without appointments, Gov. Larry Hogan’s office said. Teens who are 16 and 17 are only eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

On March 5, 2020, Maryland’s first three positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed. What followed has been more than a year of business lockdowns, virtual schooling, skepticism of the scientific community and, sadly, more than 8,000 virus-related deaths in Maryland alone. This month, on April 6, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced that all Marylanders over the age of 16 were eligible to receive the long-sought COVID-19 vaccine. While the news gave the state its first true glimpse at a possible return to normalcy, some of the most vulnerable communities are still struggling to gain access to that same hope.

Maryland added 1,169 new coronavirus cases and 17 deaths as hospitalizations increased on Sunday. Hospitalizations went up by 43 to 1,252. Of those, 304 people are in ICU beds and 948 are in acute care. The state’s positivity rate went down slightly to 5.61% The state conducted 33,132 coronavirus tests in the last day. Since the pandemic began in the state there have been 436,028 confirmed COVID-19 cases. At this time, 8,376 Marylanders have died.

A video of Baltimore County School Board meetings is making the rounds on social media. The video comes with a warning label and, as of Thursday afternoon, has been viewed 13,000 times. “To hear pornographic sounds during a meeting, to have f-bombs dropped during meetings, to have verbal altercations on the meetings — its just inappropriate and these are the people that are supposedly helping our children,” said parent Dave Patrick.