BALTIMORE (AP) - Maryland’s highest court has rejected a request to release low-level juvenile offenders amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Court of Appeals late Friday denied a petition from the Maryland Office of Public Defender that sought the release of most juvenile detainees, The Baltimore Sun and WTOP-FM reported.
The public defender’s office said in its petition earlier this week that kids as young as 10 had been placed in solitary confinement after being exposed to the virus.
The court didn’t address the merits of the petition but said an administrative order would be issued shortly by the chief judge.
That forthcoming order will provide direction and guidance to lower court judges “in connection with important health concerns affecting juveniles committed or detained in facilities in Maryland during the COVID-19 virus pandemic,” the court wrote.
Maryland on Saturday reported nearly 7,700 cofirmed cases of the virus in the state, and 206 deaths, an increase of 35 in 24 hours.
Nationwide, the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed Italy’s for the highest in the world Saturday at more than 20,000. Worldwide, confirmed infections rose above 1.7 million, with over 107,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
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