Around Maryland

Cases of COVID-19 in Baltimore City have spiked in recent weeks, outpacing every county in Maryland and rivaling an infection level not recorded since the winter peak. The reasons aren’t entirely clear, but state and local data suggest the pandemic could worsen still in the city before it gets better this summer as vaccinations against the disease continue. Cases and hospitalizations are rising in the state generally, though remain well below their mid-January peak, and state and local health officials are cautioning people to wear masks, practice social distancing and get tested after traveling or if they think they’ve been exposed.

After a visitor to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Performing Arts & Humanities Concert Hall tested positive for COVID-19 last week, Mike Pound wheeled a lab cart carrying a printer-sized device with a large megaphone-like attachment into the room. The BioFlash, a Maryland-made technology, sucked in an air sample, which passed over a compact disc-like biosensor containing a COVID-19 antibody. In a matter of minutes, a small digital panel on the side read: “Test complete — No agents detected.” The room was cleared for class to take place the next day.

Two more mass vaccination sites will open Monday in Maryland at Frederick Community College and at the Navy-Corps Memorial Stadium. This comes as Maryland added 1,483 new COVID-19 cases Sunday with 11 new confirmed deaths reported, according to data from the State Department of Health. The state has recorded 426,730 cases since the beginning of the pandemic and 8,269 deaths, up 11 from Saturday. Hospitalizations stand at 1,240, down 10 from the last day. Of those, there are 279 in ICU beds and 961 in acute care.

Everyone in Maryland who is 16 or older will be eligible next week to get the coronavirus vaccine at any site offering shots in the state, Gov. Larry Hogan said Monday. And people 16 and older can get shots this week, starting Tuesday, at the state’s five mass vaccination sites. The state will require the hundreds of other vaccine providers in Maryland to offer shots to adults and older teenagers, a total of almost 4.9 million people, as of April 12.

Johns Hopkins University is home to the top graduate-level surgery, radiology, anesthesiology, biomedical engineering, public health and nursing masters programs in the country, according to new rankings from U.S. News & World Report. Hopkins' School of Nursing held onto its No. 1 spot among 220 master of nursing programs nationwide in the 2022 Best Graduate Schools rankings. Its doctor of nursing program also rose one spot to No. 2, behind Rush University and ahead of about 160 other schools.

While rates of emergency department visits for dental conditions are lowering in Maryland among people younger than age 65, numbers are on the rise for senior citizens. Dr. Diane Romaine recently cited that data from the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, and several other statistics that show an inequity of dental care for folks of a certain age. Nationally, “70% of people age 65 and older ... have no dental benefit,” she said.

Top officials in the District and Maryland announced Thursday that they would embrace CDC guidelines and advise schools that they can operate with three feet of social distance between students in classrooms instead of the previously recommended six feet. This move would allow schools to accommodate more students in person at a time when demand for in-person learning outstrips the supply of available seats in the region. But how significantly plans for this school year will change is uncertain.

The new chief of the Prince George’s County Police Department is expected to be announced Friday afternoon. County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) is expected to make the announcement at a news conference scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. The county police department, which employs about 1,500 sworn officers and 300 civilians in the Washington suburb of nearly 1 million, has been without a permanent leader for nine months. Department veteran Hector Velez has been acting as interim chief.

A one-month test of government agencies in Maryland revealed a patchwork of approaches in how public records are tracked and how requests for access are filled. The Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association filed requests in February for public information with 31 state agencies, counties, municipalities and school systems. The idea was to look at trends in the number of public records requests they received over a three-year period and what effect the COVID-19 pandemic had, if any, on their responses.