The latest
- Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has asked Virginia’s congressional delegation for more federal aid for VIrginia.
- Montgomery County, Maryland, has reported its first county worker who has died from COVID-19.
- Following the sentiments of governors over the past few days, the White House has unveiled guidelines to a phased approach to restoring normal commerce and services, but only for places that have strong testing and and are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases.
- D.C. officials continue to encourage people to vote by mail in the June Democratic primary and Ward 2 special election. And if you do vote in person, you’ll need a mask.
- Pepco has extended its suspension of service disconnections through at least June 1.
- Another 5.2 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total for the last four weeks to 22 million. The total of new claims for D.C., Maryland and Virginia came to 177,000 — still hefty, but down from last week.
The symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, coughing and shortness of breath. Health officials say that if you have these symptoms, you should call your doctor. Don’t just show up. Medical facilities need to get ready for you. If you don’t have a doctor and you live in D.C. or the nearby Maryland suburbs, D.C.’s mayor recommends calling the Testing Triage Center at 855-363-0333 or Mary’s Center at 844-796-2797. If you live in Virginia, call 211.
Wuhan raises number of COVID-19 deaths
Wuhan, China, on Friday raised its number of COVID-19 fatalities by 1,290, bringing the city’s total to 3,869, the most in China.
Officials said the undercount was the result of insufficient admission capabilities at overwhelmed medical facilities at the peak of the outbreak.
Questions have long swirled around the accuracy of China’s case reporting, with Wuhan in particular going several days in January without reporting new cases or deaths.
China has announced more than 82,000 cases.
Fairfax Co. schools chief apologizes for distance learning flub
The head of Fairfax County Public Schools is apologizing after a not-so-smooth start to distance learning.
“I accept responsibility for not seeing this coming,” schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand said.
Capacity issues with Blackboard, the system the county uses for online instructions was one problem. The second was profanity-laced disruptions by people who the school system said may or may have not been students.
“We’re putting in patches to address both the capacity issues and enhance security for our students. And for teachers so that they have the tools to ensure that their classrooms go the way they want them to go,” Brabrand said.
He said the school system will install the patches, educate teachers about the changes they will bring, and try to restart distance learning on Monday.
“We owe that to our community, we owe that to our students and to our teachers,” Brabrand said.
Northam asks for more federal aid for Va.
Virginia Gov, Ralph Northam on Thursday wrote to Virginia’s congressional delegation, thanking them for the federal government’s help and asking for more assistance.
In a statement, Northam outlined six areas where Virginia was seeking more money from the federal government:
- More flexible state funding;
- Public health infrastructure;
- An increase in SNAP benefits and relief for renters, homeowners and homeless people;
- An expansion of unemployment benefits, health insurance and hazard pay;
- A federal recovery loan fund and expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program, which ran out of money earlier Thursday;
- Investment in infrastructure, including universal broadband.
You can read the full letter, detailing all the proposals, on Northam’s website.
Montgomery Co. reports 1st COVID-19 death among workers
Montgomery County, Maryland, reported on Thursday afternoon that Michael Miller, of the Department of Transportation, died of COVID-19 on Wednesday. He was 60.
Miller helped manage the Ride On bus fleet, working at the Silver Spring/Bethesda Depot, the county said in a statement. He had been out of work since March 30; his diagnosis was confirmed April 7.
“Mike worked hard every day to make sure buses left the depot in good condition, and on time, to serve the residents of Montgomery County,” MCDOT Director Chris Conklin said in a statement. “All of his co-workers in the Silver Spring/Bethesda Depot and the Department of Transportation are mourning the loss of a great friend and colleague.”
County Executive Marc Elrich ordered all county flags to fly at half-staff and added, “The loss of a valued county employee is hard on everyone, especially during these difficult times.”
County Council President Sidney Katz said in a statement, “Today is a heartbreaking one in our community,” adding that “Our health experts have advised us that the number of deaths in our community will continue to rise. We understand this on a factual level; however, it is the emotional toll that is exceedingly difficult for all of us as a community to grapple with and process.”
Hogan on ‘Today’ — ‘Worst possible time’ to lift safety rules
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, speaking on NBC’s “Today” show Thursday morning, set out four criteria for what it would take to lift coronavirus safety restrictions.
“We’re just really still heading up that curve,” Hogan said.
Right now, Hogan said, would be “the worst possible time” to try to return things to normal. “We’re just really still heading up that curve” in terms of cases and deaths, he added.
Hogan said four things were needed:
- More testing;
- More contact tracing;
- More hospital capacity;
- More personal protective equipment for healthcare providers
Until those criteria are met, he said, “We’re not just ramping things back up and endangering the lives of thousands of people.”
The governor said Maryland had seen a 5,000% increase in testing, but “It’s not where it’s going to be.” Testing is “the No. 1 stumbling block in America … and you really can’t get to any point where you reopen the country … until we can do much, much larger-scale testing of more people.”
Hogan, the head of the National Governors Association, said there had been “a little bit of tension” between the Trump administration and governors over the president’s comments about having “absolute power” to force governors to lift safety restrictions. There were concerns among governors “on both sides of the aisle, but the president walked back” his comments, Hogan said.
He added that the governors, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence would have a conference call Thursday about next steps.
“Ultimately, it is going to be the governors who are going to make these decisions. Different states at different points in the curve; only we know what’s going on in our states. So I think we’re going to have a productive dialogue today,” Hogan said, but in the end, ”We want to work in partnership; we all have a role to play, and let’s work together to save people’s lives and get our economy back to work in a safe way.”
Pepco extends suspension of shutoffs
Pepco announced on Thursday that is will extend its coronavirus-related assistance to customers through at last June 1.
That includes a suspension of shutoffs, a waiver on new late fees and the reconnection of customers who have recently been disconnected. If you’ve been disconnected, call Pepco’s customer service at 202-833-7500 to get hooked back up. (That’s also the number Pepco says you should call if you’re having trouble paying your bill; they’ll work with you to figure something out.)
Pepco president and CEO Dave Velazquez said in a statement, “We recognize the impact of COVID-19 on our customers and communities has been significant, with many experiencing financial difficulties and uncertainty about the future.”
U.Va. robot disinfects masks
With personal protective equipment for health care workers at a premium, the possibility of disinfecting and reusing equipment such as N95 masks could be a huge development. And a new robot at UVA Health, in Charlottesville, Virginia, is helping quickly disinfect the masks.
Enforcing Hogan’s executive order
The Maryland State Police said on Thursday that Maryland police departments have responded to a total 1,720 calls for potential violations of Gov. Larry Hogan’s executive order banning large gatherings and closing nonessential businesses, and done more than 21,000 compliance checks.
They added that 35 people have been arrested on charges of violating the order.
- Sign up for news alerts from WTOP
- Where to get tested for COVID-19 in the DC region
- Coronavirus test results in D.C., Maryland and Virginia
- Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know
- Coronavirus timeline: Key dates as the virus spread in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- WTOP coronavirus poll: Public weary of coverage, planning out-of-home activities
- False negatives in coronavirus testing are unavoidable but rare
Montgomery Co. to continue bag tax
Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando proposed a few weeks ago that the county tax on plastic bags be suspended, so as to encourage the use of the bags rather than reusable bags, which can be dirty. He’s since dropped the proposal.
Anne Arundel Co. debuts eviction protection program
Evictions are suspended statewide in Maryland, but Anne Arundel County also has its own program to help people who may get hit with lots of late fees or incur a huge arrears.
Find out more, including how to apply.
Ripken steps to the plate
Baltimore Oriole legend Cal Ripken Jr. long-ago established The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, which has started programs and built fields to give kids in underserved communities a safe place to play and learn. It’s now shifting its focus to help feed families in those same communities.
Read and watch the full interview with WTOP’s Dave Johnson.
WTOP’s Abigail Constantino, Mike Murillo and Jack Moore and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
