Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced he has signed an executive order to institute a stay-at-home directive for the state, making Maryland at least the 28th state in the U.S. to do so as the coronavirus pandemic spreads.
The order goes into effect Monday at 8 p.m.
“No Maryland citizen should be leaving their home unless it is for an essential job or for an essential reason, such as obtaining food or medicine, seeking urgent medical attention, or for other necessary purposes,” Mr. Hogan said.
Willfully violating the order will be punished as a misdemeanor, Mr. Hogan said, with a fine of up to $5,000 or jail time not exceeding one year, or both.
The governor added that only essential businesses may remain open and “must also make every effort” to limit the number of required staff working on site and to institute telework wherever possible.
It’s the first official stay-at-home order in the region. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also issued a stay-at-home order later in the day.
SEE ALSO: Ralph Northam, Virginia governor, issues stay-at-home order amid coronavirus pandemic
Previously, Mr. Hogan stopped short of ordering citizens to stay at home, but strongly recommended it at every opportunity.
“We are no longer asking or suggesting that Marylanders stay home,” he said Monday. “We are directing them to do so.”
Mr. Hogan warned that experts have said the National Capital Region of the District, Maryland and Virginia could soon look like the New York tri-state area in terms of the pandemic’s impact. As of Monday, Maryland has seen 15 deaths from COVID-19 and 1,413 confirmed cases compared with 13,316 negative tests.
The governor told residents to use “common sense” in determining what an essential reason for leaving the home would be.
“People are not locked in their homes,” he said. “We want people who have to go out and get food, they need to get prescriptions. You should be able to get outside for your own physical and mental well-being and go for a walk and take your dog for a walk. You should not be going out with a crowd of 100 people congregating in a park somewhere.”
It hearkened back to an incident over the weekend, in which a man in Charles County was arrested for violating the state’s order outlawing gathering in groups larger than 10 people. The man hosted a bonfire of about 60 people and refused to disperse it when police arrived.
The order also follows a COVID-19 outbreak at a nursing home in Mount Airy, Maryland, where at least 66 residents were infected and at least 11 were hospitalized.
Fran Phillips, Maryland’s deputy secretary of public health services, encouraged people with “health care skills” to volunteer with Maryland Responds, the medical reserve corps.
For everyone else, the message was clear: Stay home.
“What you do today, what you do tomorrow, matters,” Ms. Phillips said. “It really matters. It matters to the future of us all.”
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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