Hogan Announces First Community Transmission Case of Coronavirus in Maryland

Gov. Hogan announced the first case of community transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Maryland. 

Community transmission means the patient had no known exposure to the illness through travel or contact with an infected person, according to the governor’s statement. The patient is a Prince George’s County man in his 60s, who Hogan announced last night along with two other cases. 

Hogan said he will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. and his administration is entering a new phase of work to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The press conference will be live-streamed on Hogan’s Facebook and Twitter.

Watch a livestream of the press conference below:

“I will be announcing to Marylanders major actions we are taking to protect public health and safety,” he said. 

There are 12 confirmed cases of the illness in Maryland. 

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. At a press conference the same day, Hogan said residents should be prepared for dramatic increases in positive cases, as can be seen in other states that had positive cases before Maryland did. He said all Marylanders need to understand that there may be significant disruption to their everyday lives for a period of time. 

Today we are announcing the first case of community transmission of COVID-19 in Maryland. The patient, whose case was first announced last night, is a Prince George’s County resident who had no known exposure to coronavirus through travel or an infected individual.

— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) March 12, 2020

About Maryam Shahzad

Maryam is a reporter with Montgomery Community Media. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism. Previously, she was an intern with MCM. She can be reached at mshahzad@mymcmedia.org or on Twitter @maryam_mcm.

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