Wharf fish market closed by D.C. government

The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs closed the fish market at the Wharf Saturday night after crowds of people were there this weekend not social distancing.

DCRA officials hung emergency closure signs throughout the market informing customers and business owners of the measure, which will be in place until the end of the public health emergency, April 24, which is subject to change, according to a statement from the Mayor’s office.

“Since food is essential, operators will be able to present a plan for social distancing to DCRA,” said LaToya Foster, Director of Communications for the mayor. “If the plan allows for safe operations, the venue will be allowed to reopen and DCRA and D.C. Health would continue to monitor compliance.”

There are four cases of COVID-19 among the staff at the D.C. Jail, according to an email from Michael Hannon, the lawyer representing the corrections officers’ union. He said a spouse and child of a corrections officer who tested positive also contracted the coronavirus.

The D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC) confirmed two additional cases of the coronavirus among the residents of the D.C. Jail. bringing the jail’s total to 14 cases.

The Fraternal Order of Police Department of Corrections Labor Committee announced to members that the union is filing a lawsuit and group grievance on Monday to compel the DOC to protect officers from unsafe work environments.

The union will ask the judge to order the DOC to provide adequate personal protective equipment to every officer, and specifically provide gowns to officers who have to interact with quarantined residents; name an expert to go to the jail to find out the truth and report to the court; direct DOC to construct a secure hospital in the D.C. Armory to house all quarantined and infected inmates; and to sanitize the D.C. Jail, and limit the population to healthy inmates and staff.

Over the weekend, D.C. Department of Health announced 241 new cases of the coronavirus and seven new deaths from COVID-19.

About a quarter of the District’s 998 cases are between the ages of 31 and 40.

As of Sunday morning, the region has recorded 126 deaths and over 6,700 positive cases of COVID-19, with 998 in the District out of a population of over 700,000, 2,637 in Virginia out of a population of 8.5 million and 3,125 in Maryland out of 6 million people.

Of the confirmed cases, the District has 258 cases and Maryland 159 cases that are in recovery; the Virginia Department of Health is not reporting that data.