'All Those Affected Are Feeling Fine' Three Members Of Governor Hogan's Staff Test Positive For COVID-19; Hogan Remains Negative For Virus
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Governor Larry Hogan spent much of the past week touring the Eastern Shore. That included greeting people unmasked while on the Ocean City boardwalk and speaking at the Maryland Association of Counties, which was attended by leaders from across the state.
It's always great to see so many Marylanders having a fun time in Ocean City. This afternoon we took a stroll down the boardwalk and stopped for some Thrasher's fries. pic.twitter.com/iRqZ2GUAnQ
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) August 20, 2021
It was great to be back in Ocean City for the Maryland Association of Counties summer conference. Never has our close collaboration and partnership with the counties been more important than over the past 18 months. pic.twitter.com/we9baU2i68
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) August 21, 2021
Then came news that four of his staff members tested positive for COVID-19. One who initially received a positive rapid antigen test later had a PCR test and was found to be negative.
2) A fourth staff member who received a positive rapid antigen test has received a negative confirmatory PCR test. All those affected are feeling fine.
— Kata Hall Burke (@katadhall) August 25, 2021
The governor and lieutenant governor have both tested negative for the virus.
Governor Hogan also attended an event with the Washington, DC mayor and Virginia governor.
During today's ceremony with @GovernorVA and @MayorBowser, I was honored to participate in the transfer of 55 historic African American headstones to National Harmony Memorial Park. As soon as we learned of this undertaking, we offered the full support of our Maryland team. pic.twitter.com/ydn1Z1OVdl
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) August 23, 2021
During an event at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Tuesday, Hogan said he was headed to Colorado for a National Governors Association conference. He said he would meet with Jeff Zients, The White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, while there.
This afternoon, @GovLarryHogan visited BWI Marshall Airport for a tour of a new FirstCall Medical Center in our Main Terminal. We also celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony. #Open4BizMD #airports @FraportUSA pic.twitter.com/no116vA8iK
— BWI Marshall Airport (@BWI_Airport) August 24, 2021
Hogan, a cancer survivor, already received his third vaccine dose, which he revealed to CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday.
"I had a cancer of the immune system so I got it on Monday [Aug. 16]. I feel great," Hogan said on the program.
The governor's office said all members of Mr. Hogan's staff are fully vaccinated and are following all CDC guidance on quarantining and contact tracing.
"All those affected are feeling fine," tweeted Hogan spokesperson Kata Hall.
Dr. Bill Moss with Johns Hopkins told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren such 'breakthrough' infections among the fully vaccinated are rare but do happen.
"There may be a component of some waning immunity for those who are vaccinated early on, and that was the argument that The White House has made about the need for booster doses," Moss said.
He noted the Delta variant is causing an increase in cases among the fully vaccinated but "the vast, vast majority of these breakthrough infections among fully vaccinated individuals are mild."
????Maryland reports 1,190 new cases and 11 more deaths today; positivity rate inched higher but remains below 5%. #coronavirus #COVID19 @wjz pic.twitter.com/rUmCaB7i3O
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) August 25, 2021
Maryland reports 9,079 infections among the fully vaccinated. Among those, 733 people were hospitalized, representing 5.6% of all COVID-19 cases hospitalized.
There were 76 deaths among the vaccinated, representing 5% of all lab-confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Maryland.
The Maryland Department of Health said approximately 6.5% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland since January 2021 have been among fully vaccinated individuals.