The Problem with Covid Control in Maryland
Although covid cases in Maryland have remained much lower than those in more hotspot states like Texas and California, they still have not been wholly suppressed. The attitude of the residents and public policies enacted have allowed the number of cases to resurge, even after a relatively quieted period of time.
Maryland governor Larry Hogan has made many contradictory statements and regulations in regards to proper protocols in the pandemic. Although he “ordered residents to wear masks in public places where physical distancing of 6 feet is not possible,” he also separately allowed all businesses to fully reopen starting September 4 (1, 2). The former mandate seems much more like a strong obligatory suggestion than a truly-enforced order, especially with how many young people are simply refusing to wear masks or social distance with friends; the sudden relaxing of restrictions is a much more notable development.
Pamela Wood writes about how this is extremely risky, citing the specific allowed measures of “up to 100 people at indoor venues and 250 at outdoor venues,” and quoting theater owners who were “so ready to get the popcorn popping and the marquee on and to see [their] wonderful customers again” (2). It showed how these entertainment venue owners would jump at the opportunity to begin making money again, and take full advantage of Hogan’s statewide opening — even at the cost of Marylanders’ health.
Maryland has seen much deadlier proportions of covid cases even when compared to high-infection states like California, making the full reopening of the state that much more dangerous. Rodricks goes into depth about the death toll on Maryland being 4x higher than that of California, likely because of factors like an increased African-American population (6.5% in California to 30% in Maryland), an increase of mass transit on the east coast, and a higher per capita density (“California has 239 residents per square mile while Maryland has 594”) (4). He supports Wood’s assertion that Hogan’s plan to reopen Maryland this early on is extremely unsafe, through specific examples of how Marylanders are already more at risk — even without a fully-open state.
At the time of that business reopening allotment, Maryland had been in quarantine for 6 months. Many young people were forced to miss their graduations and be held at home instead of getting to visit their colleges. Most residents had been cooped up in their houses with just family for a half a year at this point, so a sudden ability to go out and socialize in whatever way possible was immediately jumped on — even though that included eating together in close proximities, being in enclosed small spaces without proper distancing / masks, etc..
Between September 3 and September 4, according to Google’s analytics, cases in Maryland increased from 696 to 828, a 132 case increase in just a single day. It shows how the governor Hogan’s message was received by Marylanders, and the constant spikes around holidays and steady increases in cases at times (like “the 8th consecutive day of increases in hospitalizations,” on July 25) support the same conclusion (1).
Though it may seem obvious to many that reopening the state that early was not the right move for the health and safety of Maryland residents, Hogan doesn’t seem to care. Against warnings that suggest “we [in Maryland] aren’t testing enough… and that many infected people are going undiagnosed and remain able to transmit if they aren’t being isolated”, and people’s fears that “as the governor lifts his stay-at-home order, that sounds ominous,” and the plan that was meant to be in place that kept the “riskiest activities [from] resum[ing] until there was a vaccine or “effective therapeutics” to treat people sick with COVID-19[, including] large-scale gatherings, “high capacity” bars, entertainment venues, regular visitation policies at hospitals and large religious gatherings”: Hogan leaned toward prioritizing the economy over prioritizing the lives of his constituents (4, 2). He even urged schools to reopen fully, although they announced (and have maintained) that they will be completely online this semester (2).
This may be because of his favorable poll numbers that suggest “a bout of candor [would not] cost him [much] personally”, meaning he’d be able to comfortably take a hit to his reputation as a caring governor in order to deem Maryland safety relatively insignificant (6). In order to do so, he’s downplayed the seriousness of the virus, reducing his credibility and the trust of those who are aware of what’s going on in him.
The effects of this mentality can even be seen in the efficiency of the covid tests themselves. Many of them remain in storage because “[t]here are missing components required for them to actually be put in use,” directly reducing testing and awareness of how much contagion is actively in Maryland (6). Additionally, some analysis of the testing kits “suggests a false negative rate of up to 37.5%,” meaning that many of the kits that are put to use don’t even provide accurate information (5). In a time like this when even one mistake can cost hundreds of lives in a single state, Hogan’s disregard for the people’s health is a blatant attack on the well-being of the residents of Maryland.
Having an authority that seems to disregard the societal impacts of statewide regulations as well as a population that’s been socially starved and seems to lack proper regard for each others’ safety, especially at the expense of their own enjoyment, has proven, in Maryland, to be a disastrous combination. The main goal moving forward needs to be determining how to strike a balance between economic support for small businesses and controlling covid cases.
Sources:
[1] MD Adds Nearly 1,300 Coronavirus Cases In One Day
[3] Maryland reports 477 new coronavirus cases, 6 more fatalities
[4] Maryland’s COVID-19 death rate starkly higher than that in California
[5] There are reasons to have doubts about Maryland’s COVID-19 testing data | READER COMMENTARY
[6] What’s lacking from Maryland’s COVID-19 test kits? A dose of transparency | COMMENTARY
[7] Maryland COVID-19 cases up 88% over 48 hours
[8] Maryland’s Experience With the COVID-19 Surge: What Worked, What Didn’t, What Next?
