Gov. Hogan Announces New COVID-19 Testing Centers As Hospitalizations Decrease
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Governor Hogan Thursday announced a new hospital-based COVID testing site opened at LifeBridge Health in Carroll County with two more set to open by Saturday.
Testing sites at GBMC and St. Agnes will open Friday and Saturday, respectively, the governor said.
"We've reached the point where some of our hospital systems that they are placing adult patients in pediatric beds," Gov. Hogan said Thursday.
Hospitalizations in Maryland fell below 3,000 for the first time in more than two weeks, according to Maryland Department of Health data. MDH reported another 70 deaths Thursday. State officials say the "vast majority of deaths" continue to be from those who are not vaccinated.
Nearly 9,000 new cases were reported Thursday, First Lady Yumi Hogan among them.
The governor said the first lady is "doing well" and isolating at home. News of her positive test came exactly one month after Governor Hogan announced his positive COVID test.
"My wife had me locked a room for 10 days and was dropping food outside the door," Gov. Hogan said. "Now I'm doing the same thing for her."
The governor said he had a pair of negative COVID tests Thursday, but spoke wearing a mask out of an abundance of caution.
More than a dozen Montgomery County schools announced the move to virtual instruction through next week. The governor called the move "a mistake" and "too aggressive."
"We want to make sure we're keeping our kids safe. We currently have 30 kids in the hospital out of nearly 3,000," Gov. Hogan said.