GOVERNOR HOGAN: Good evening. Joining me today are Transportation Secretary Greg Slater and Dr. Jinlene Chan from the Maryland Department of Health.
We find ourselves in another pivotal moment in our battle against COVID-19. A few weeks ago, just before Thanksgiving, after taking statewide actions and initiating a comprehensive response to prepare our hospitals for this surge, we made a strong plea to Marylanders asking them to keep on doing the things that help to keep us safe and to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Once again Marylanders really stepped up to meet the moment, getting tested in record numbers, diligently wearing masks, canceling travel to stay home with their families, and following all of the existing orders and public health guidance.
As a result, the post-Thanksgiving surge has not materialized in Maryland to the extent that public health officials predicted and did not rise to the levels that it has in most of the other states.
Our total increase in cases this week was just 3%. At 7.73%, our statewide positivity rate is the 8th lowest in America, and at 45.2, our case rate is the 9th lowest.
Our metrics are relatively stable, but community transmission does continue to have an impact and things can change rapidly if we do not continue doing the things that keep us safe.
Our hospitalizations decreased today by 60. Acute beds are down by 65. ICU beds are down by 5. And we have had no change in hospital admissions over the past 2 weeks.
Our strongest defense against this virus continues to be the cooperation and vigilance of the people of Maryland. However, this holiday season could present perhaps our toughest challenge yet. It is during this time of the year that so many of us typically make plans to travel, visit family and loved ones, and we all look forward to hosting or attending family gatherings and holiday parties.
Unfortunately these are the very things that contact tracing consistently shows are the most dangerous things we can do.
After doing so well for so long, we simply cannot afford to let our guard down over the holidays during this very critical time. So our message today is simple: You are safer at home for the holidays this year. Making difficult sacrifices during these next few weeks will absolutely help to keep your family, loved ones, and your fellow Marylanders safe. It will help our hospitals keep up with the demand, and it will save lives.
Our theme is Home for the Holidays. We do want families to celebrate and enjoy the holidays in ways that keep them safe. Today the Maryland Department of Health is issuing a public health advisory which lowers the gathering limit from 25 to 10. They are also advising Marylanders against all nonessential activities and holiday gatherings with people outside of your immediate household.
Today I am issuing an emergency order which requires limiting travel to essential purposes only. Marylanders who do travel outside of Maryland or individuals who do travel to our state will be required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result or to self-quarantine for 10 days. With testing so widely available to anyone throughout Maryland, this is easier than ever before. To find out where you can get tested, go to COVIDtest.maryland.gov.
The state of Maryland has instituted mandatory telework for all state employees who are able, and beginning Monday, December 21st, we will be temporarily suspending all in-person customer-facing operations at state facilities for the next 2 weeks. We are encouraging businesses that are able to also institute telework policies and to limit in-person interactions as much as possible. The greatest risk of exposure to the virus is by being within just 6 feet of someone for more than 15 minutes.
For the kids out there who may be concerned, I have important good news. Today I have issued a very special emergency order which exempts the one true Santa Claus who resides at the North Pole, all non-human elves associated with Santa, and the reindeer necessary for the propulsion from Santa’s sleigh, from all testing and travel requirements.
According to Dr. Fauci, who I was on a Zoom with this afternoon, quote, Santa Claus has a good innate immunity from COVID-19, and so due to this immunity, it is unnecessary for Santa and his affiliated elves and reindeer to comply with the public health orders. Santa says he will be wearing his mask and he asked me to remind all the kids out there to please remember to leave the milk and cookies out, as always.
We begin this week with a ray of hope as we began the first COVID-19 vaccinations in the state of Maryland. In the coming weeks, all of our front-line healthcare workers, the residents and staff of our nursing homes, and our first responders will begin to receive vaccinations.
We can also find hope in the fact that after 8 long months that we have been pushing and urging leaders in Washington to act, that Congress is finally putting aside partisan politics to reach a bipartisan consensus on a federal relief package to extend vital federal CARES Act programs that help struggling families and small businesses. We are only close to this happening because a small group of republican and democrats, including the leaders of the problem solvers caucus and No Labels were willing to do the hard work of reaching across the aisle to find common ground, and they are showing what real bipartisan leadership looks like.
We are disappointed that this compromise appears to be leading out support for state and local governments, which will continue to be desperately needed as we continue to battle on the front lines, but as I have repeatedly said, with so many people hurting, something, even if it is only a short-term solution, is certainly better than doing nothing. In the new year, I’m going to keep fighting for Congress to come back in January and deliver a full relief package which the people of Maryland and the nation desperately need.
This compromise will provide some short-term relief and will help many of our struggling families and small businesses over the next few months.
The state of Maryland has already provided $500 million in emergency state economic relief, and we will continue to take every action we can at the state level to help those most in need. Today I am announcing an additional $180 million in immediate emergency economic relief to help those families and small businesses that are being hardest hit. This new economic relief includes $50 million from our dedicated emergency rapid response fund to help hotels and hospitality businesses across the state. This sector was among the first to suffer and will be among the last to recover from the crisis. According to recent projections, 71% of hotels will not last more than 6 months at current projected revenue and occupancy levels. This $50 million in relief will be distributed by local jurisdictions to go toward payroll expenses, to keep people employed, and to assist with rent and utilities in order to help keep operations going while travel is restricted.
We are also providing another tranche of $30 million to add to our successful relief program for restaurants, bringing that fund to $80 million. We will be pressing the county governments to immediately distribute this money to those small businesses that are most in need, and once again, we are calling on the county governments to match this state investment in order to help our struggling small businesses and restaurants, help them make it through the winter, and to keep as many people on the payroll as they possibly can.
Today we are providing another $15 million in assistance to entertainment venues through our successful Main Street program at the Department of Housing and Community Development, bringing that total to $35 million.
As part of our relief initiative, we are providing another $5 million to help socially or economically disadvantaged businesses, specifically in our rural counties.
Today we are also announcing $40 million to provide a boost to the temporary cash assistance benefits over each of the next 6 months. This will help more than 66,000 Maryland families that are really struggling right now to make ends meet. And we will also be providing $40 million to the developmental disability care providers by accelerating their 4% increase to begin on January 1st, which is 6 months ahead of schedule.
More than 17,000 Marylanders benefit from these critical services. By the actions we’re taking today, we are providing a total of more than $600 million in emergency economic relief for the state. When the legislature returns to work next month for the 2021 session, we will be proposing a much larger economic and stimulus relief package which will provide further support for our struggling families and small businesses.
In addition to the actions that we are taking, there are things that you can all do to help your fellow citizens. Support your local restaurants as much as you can by utilizing carryout or delivery. Give to a local charity, nonprofit, or food bank. And do your holiday shopping at small mom and pop businesses, even maybe utilizing curb side pickup.
This is the season of giving, so please do whatever you can to help support our Maryland small businesses.
During Hanukkah, the festival of lights, we celebrate the victory of hope over fear and light over darkness. In the Christian faith, the Christmas season is a time of great joy and anticipation as we await the birth of Jesus.
This year I’m reminded of a line from the song O Holy Night: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn.”
This has been an incredibly long and very difficult year for each and every one of us and we’re all weary and we’re ready to put 2020 behind us. But during this holiday season, regardless of your faith, let’s all reflect on a spirit of hope, that more vaccines are on the way, that more economic relief is coming to those who need it, and that victory over this deadly virus truly is on the horizon.
With your help and with your continued vigilance, now and into the new year, we can all be hopeful and set our sights on a better, healthier, happier, and more prosperous 2021.
At this time I’m going to turn it over to transportation Secretary Greg Slater. Yesterday was a busy day for the secretary, who oversaw the statewide response to our first winter storm of the year and testified before the Board of Public Works as we advanced an agreement of the completion of the purple line which he and his team did an incredible job on. And yesterday I joined Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Washington, D.C. Mayor Bowser for a videoconference to discuss our regional response from COVID-19, and following up on that discussion earlier today, the three of us sent a joint letter to the President-elect and his transportation team urging them to provide increased federal support for metro.
I think Secretary Slater this week is the one year on the job I want to thank him for his incredible leadership on all of these issues and ask him to provide some details on travel safety this holiday season.
GREG SLATER: Thank you, Governor.
You can’t tell from here in Annapolis, but yesterday we saw the biggest snow storm in our region in years, and our crews were out there all across our transportation network. I would like to thank the public for truly staying home and allowing to us do that work. Because of COVID, the complexities of fighting this storm were very different than what we’ve done before. We had to make sure our teams were following our proper training and protocols that we’ve had in place for months but also specific measures associated with a winter storm. We couldn’t have more than one person in the cab of a truck. We had to spread out bunking areas for the men and women working all night in different parts of the building than ever before. We had to do enhanced cleaning in between every driver change on our vehicles. And we had to make sure that face coverings and distancing were taking place at every step of fighting this storm.
The effects of COVID-19 have been unprecedented, touching every aspect of life in Maryland. For me it has also shown the tremendous resiliency of our contractors and partners and employees who keep Marylanders working every day. Throughout the pandemic, our crews along the roadways have helped essential workers report to duty every day. At the same time, the port of Baltimore and BWI airport have kept that critical supply chain open.
Our container volumes today at the port of Baltimore are up 14% compared to last year. And at BWI airport, we’ve issued 1600 new badges for new jobs in the private sector throughout operations in our supply chain.
So if you’ve gotten a package this holiday season, it has likely come through BWI Marshall Airport or port of Baltimore.
MTA keeps our truck drivers on the road and our crews have advanced and completed critical projects during this pandemic. It’s truly a team effort, and what they do in weather like yesterday, showing up when Maryland needs us the most, immediately adjusting our practices to safe practices. Some of the accomplishments, completing the Bay Bridge a year ahead of schedule, running shuttles for essential workers in hospitals, using state highway crews to deliver PPE, completing construction projects, Maryland 180 in Frederick, transported 100,000 workers every day on Baltimore school buses, responded to 31,000 incidents on our roadways so far this year including 500 in the last two days in this winter storm.
I’m especially proud of the purple line agreement with our partners approved just yesterday with the Board of Public Works. Thanks to Governor Hogan for helping every step of the way. We’ve taken that next major step getting that project delivered.
But while navigating this pandemic, we’ve had to adjust the way we work, we’ve had to take precautions, to keep our crews, contractors, and the public safe. While a significant amount of our workforce is teleworking, you can’t run a transportation workforce without front line workers who are critical in keeping that system running. We’ve been providing front line employees with face coverings and hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes while building Plexiglas screens and barriers in place where our crews are in contact with the public. Our facilities have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, and we provide screening for all of our employees and customers and visitors.
Because our work is truly essential, we can’t be safe unless you stay safe, our traveling public. As COVID-19 is picking up, we join Governor Hogan in asking all Marylanders to stay home for the holidays. If you don’t have to travel, please don’t. That’s a bit of a different message than we’ve done in the past. If you don’t have to travel, please don’t. This holiday season, please give the gift of good health by avoiding nonessential travel to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to protect you and your families. Simply put: Don’t travel unless necessary. We’ll be sharing that message on our highway overhead signs, our transit stations and at BWI. You’ll see these fliers everywhere, these visual aids, about giving the gift of good health during the pandemic and keeping your guard up so that cases stay down.
So please know, if you must travel, our team will be ready. Here are some reminders that will help keep you safe. Out on the road, our chart vehicles and emergency response technicians will be out patrolling with breakdowns and emergencies. If you must fly, remember the terminal at BWI is open only to ticketed passengers and employees, and you must wear a face covering within the airport. Passengers can get free masks at airport information desks. For those using transit, you must have a face covering. We ask riders to maintain social distancing. We have shields in place between bus operators and riders and all of our operators are wearing face coverings.
With the Governor’s announcement about closing public-facing government operations, MDOT will be closing our EZ Pass customer service centers, MTA store, and all MVA branches to limit the amount of in-person interaction. We encourage our customers to take advantage of our online services that are available from the comfort and safety of your own home at MTA.maryland.gov.
For our MTA customers, the reduced fare certifications due to expire during this time will continue to be honored. Our customers can purchase senior or disability monthly passes online from our website. And our regular transit fares can be purchased through our mobile transit fare app or from a ticket vending location at a station. Our MVA customers, we will be reaching out to reschedule those appointments very quickly and efficiently for you.
So we appreciate our customers understanding that at the end of the day, the safest place to be for this holiday season is home for the holidays. And again, we at MDOT can’t stay safe unless you stay safe. We have to interact with you to run this supply chain and the best gift you can give our loved ones in 2020 is a safe and healthy start to 2021.
Thank you.
GOVERNOR HOGAN: Thank you, Greg.
I would be happy to take some questions.
(Question off mic).
I think the judge actually said that he didn’t follow the same kind of protocols we did. He specifically said that the state orders were in order and I think his thoughts were that perhaps the act was arbitrary.
(Question off mic).
We haven’t got a lot of information on that yet. We just heard some of this today, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of it. It is not apparently going to impact our first batches, for the first week or two. The only ones the government said we anticipate getting 300,000 by the end of the year, hopefully that’s still the case between the two companies. It won’t impact the first 155,000, which we’ve already received from Pfizer. We’re trying to figure out the details of it. Basically they did tell us while these were projections that every Friday they would give us a confirmation after talking with the producers of what was going to be shipped the following Monday, that week. So tomorrow we may have more information, but I don’t think it’s impacting our first shipments, and hopefully will not have a big impact on the second round. But the federal government is going to be updating us weekly as they get updates from the manufacturers.
(Question off mic).
Every single hospital in the state and every single region and every single nursing home will have them by next week.
(Question off mic).
I don’t think the weather will affect us. They go directly from the federal government to the hospitals. We don’t bus them. And they will be getting theirs next week.
(Question off mic).
We have these meetings periodically because we really, it’s important we think to know we’re so interconnected in the Washington region, between the three states. People live in one jurisdiction and work in another, back and forth. One thing we’ve reached agreement on, both Governor Northam and I are providing vaccines to the District of Columbia who did not receive enough to handle their healthcare workers that actually are residents of our state, so we provided 8,000 to them just for Maryland residents who work in the D.C. hospitals, and Virginia did the same. A big part of our conversation was about Lamoda and the additional $500 billion shortfall, $500 million shortfall, and how we’re going to work with the new administration about how to get some federal help which we think will be greatly needed.
And we did, each of us, went through the actions we currently had in place and things that we were considering, and we’re all pretty much in alignment. I mean, everybody has little different nuances here and there, but I don’t think anybody is too drink from the other.
(Question off mic).
We’re talking about flying out of the state or traveling to places outside of our region. Obviously we have hundreds of thousands of people who travel to D.C. and back every day. Same thing with Virginia.
Sorry. I’ll come back to you, Brad, I promise.
(Question off mic).
We’re obviously thrilled and I think we all expected it. As I said, I was on a call with Fauci earlier today. I spoke to Stephen Hahn, the FDA commissioner, a couple days ago, and it is a relief. We expected it but it’s always good to finally get a decision and it just means more help is on the way.
(Question off mic).
Well, I’ll tell ya, the last day that we need right now in the middle of this economic crisis, with so many small business owners and so many individuals suffering, is to increase taxes on them. I mean, we’re trying to provide relief to keep them in business. And then to charge a new tax to try to put them out of business makes no sense whatsoever, so we’re going to be doing everything we can to convince our friends in the legislature that they should not override the veto and they should not impose a new tax in the middle of the pandemic of any kind.
(Question off mic).
Maybe Dr. Chan can talk about that. We’re going to have a very aggressive marketing and outreach campaign. We’ve had numerous discussions with all of the local elected officials and legislators from that area. We’re going to continue to talk with them on nearly a weekly basis, and I think we’re going to do everything we can to get the message out in every single corner of the state.
I don’t know if you have anything to add about that.
JINLENE CHAN: Thank you for the question. And the Governor covered exactly, you know, the approach that we’re taking. We’re also engaging with community organizations and community leaders all across the state to assist. And they’re providing input now in terms of how we should roll out our campaign and what kind of messages, and we’re taking that input very seriously. So we’re not doing it alone by any means. We’re really engaging with as many partners as we can across the state.
(Question off mic).
So, you know, we have engaged as many of the nursing homes and assisted livings as we can in that federal program. It’s not necessarily an authorization for them to receive the vaccine. This is help that the federal government is providing to all the states, and Maryland is taking advantage of it and actually has activated that program.
(Question off mic).
Nursing homes.
GOVERNOR HOGAN: Sorry. The very first ones are hospital — the most important front-line providers in our hospitals and our residents and staff at nursing homes.
Also in our number one category will include other long-term care facilities including assisted living, but that is not in this first batch because we’re not even getting to that 1A category. And assisted living are not in as a vulnerable position as they are in nursing homes where they have underlying health conditions. That’s where 52% of our deaths have been and where the most vulnerable are, but we’re definitely going to include other long-term care facilities as we work our way down the list, and they’re next in line.
(Question off mic).
Well, you know, we’re not going to be out there checking people or having law enforcement come after people for traveling. We’re just going to rely on the good faith of the people who will listen to these orders because they’re critically important to keeping people alive and we’re going to try to ensure as much compliance as we can and just get people to cooperate.
(Question off mic).
It was me, actually. Look, I first of all, it’s pretty unusual. I do try to engage with people as they ask questions or express themselves, and quite frankly, after 9 months of working day and night, 7 days a week, I woke up at 3:00 this morning and people are spewing angry hateful things every day, all day, on Facebook. And I just said something about I’m tired of the comments. I didn’t really call anybody anything, but I did say stupid comments and I probably shouldn’t have.
(Question off mic).
Absolutely. Yeah. People are repeatedly saying we’re sick and tired of hearing from you, we don’t want to listen to anything you have to say. I very politely said, you know, if you just unlike my page, you won’t have to listen to anything I say. I thought it was appropriate.
SPEAKER: Last question.
[Laughter]
GOVERNOR HOGAN: It was really easy. You don’t have to listen to me anymore.
(Question off mic).
That was very observant of you. I went to the dermatologist. Nothing serious. Little Band-Aid here. No, not skin cancer. Just those of us who are old and spend a lot of time in the sun, you know, these things they just take off.
SPEAKER: Thank you.
We find ourselves in another pivotal moment in our battle against COVID-19. A few weeks ago, just before Thanksgiving, after taking statewide actions and initiating a comprehensive response to prepare our hospitals for this surge, we made a strong plea to Marylanders asking them to keep on doing the things that help to keep us safe and to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Once again Marylanders really stepped up to meet the moment, getting tested in record numbers, diligently wearing masks, canceling travel to stay home with their families, and following all of the existing orders and public health guidance.
As a result, the post-Thanksgiving surge has not materialized in Maryland to the extent that public health officials predicted and did not rise to the levels that it has in most of the other states.
Our total increase in cases this week was just 3%. At 7.73%, our statewide positivity rate is the 8th lowest in America, and at 45.2, our case rate is the 9th lowest.
Our metrics are relatively stable, but community transmission does continue to have an impact and things can change rapidly if we do not continue doing the things that keep us safe.
Our hospitalizations decreased today by 60. Acute beds are down by 65. ICU beds are down by 5. And we have had no change in hospital admissions over the past 2 weeks.
Our strongest defense against this virus continues to be the cooperation and vigilance of the people of Maryland. However, this holiday season could present perhaps our toughest challenge yet. It is during this time of the year that so many of us typically make plans to travel, visit family and loved ones, and we all look forward to hosting or attending family gatherings and holiday parties.
Unfortunately these are the very things that contact tracing consistently shows are the most dangerous things we can do.
After doing so well for so long, we simply cannot afford to let our guard down over the holidays during this very critical time. So our message today is simple: You are safer at home for the holidays this year. Making difficult sacrifices during these next few weeks will absolutely help to keep your family, loved ones, and your fellow Marylanders safe. It will help our hospitals keep up with the demand, and it will save lives.
Our theme is Home for the Holidays. We do want families to celebrate and enjoy the holidays in ways that keep them safe. Today the Maryland Department of Health is issuing a public health advisory which lowers the gathering limit from 25 to 10. They are also advising Marylanders against all nonessential activities and holiday gatherings with people outside of your immediate household.
Today I am issuing an emergency order which requires limiting travel to essential purposes only. Marylanders who do travel outside of Maryland or individuals who do travel to our state will be required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result or to self-quarantine for 10 days. With testing so widely available to anyone throughout Maryland, this is easier than ever before. To find out where you can get tested, go to COVIDtest.maryland.gov.
The state of Maryland has instituted mandatory telework for all state employees who are able, and beginning Monday, December 21st, we will be temporarily suspending all in-person customer-facing operations at state facilities for the next 2 weeks. We are encouraging businesses that are able to also institute telework policies and to limit in-person interactions as much as possible. The greatest risk of exposure to the virus is by being within just 6 feet of someone for more than 15 minutes.
For the kids out there who may be concerned, I have important good news. Today I have issued a very special emergency order which exempts the one true Santa Claus who resides at the North Pole, all non-human elves associated with Santa, and the reindeer necessary for the propulsion from Santa’s sleigh, from all testing and travel requirements.
According to Dr. Fauci, who I was on a Zoom with this afternoon, quote, Santa Claus has a good innate immunity from COVID-19, and so due to this immunity, it is unnecessary for Santa and his affiliated elves and reindeer to comply with the public health orders. Santa says he will be wearing his mask and he asked me to remind all the kids out there to please remember to leave the milk and cookies out, as always.
We begin this week with a ray of hope as we began the first COVID-19 vaccinations in the state of Maryland. In the coming weeks, all of our front-line healthcare workers, the residents and staff of our nursing homes, and our first responders will begin to receive vaccinations.
We can also find hope in the fact that after 8 long months that we have been pushing and urging leaders in Washington to act, that Congress is finally putting aside partisan politics to reach a bipartisan consensus on a federal relief package to extend vital federal CARES Act programs that help struggling families and small businesses. We are only close to this happening because a small group of republican and democrats, including the leaders of the problem solvers caucus and No Labels were willing to do the hard work of reaching across the aisle to find common ground, and they are showing what real bipartisan leadership looks like.
We are disappointed that this compromise appears to be leading out support for state and local governments, which will continue to be desperately needed as we continue to battle on the front lines, but as I have repeatedly said, with so many people hurting, something, even if it is only a short-term solution, is certainly better than doing nothing. In the new year, I’m going to keep fighting for Congress to come back in January and deliver a full relief package which the people of Maryland and the nation desperately need.
This compromise will provide some short-term relief and will help many of our struggling families and small businesses over the next few months.
The state of Maryland has already provided $500 million in emergency state economic relief, and we will continue to take every action we can at the state level to help those most in need. Today I am announcing an additional $180 million in immediate emergency economic relief to help those families and small businesses that are being hardest hit. This new economic relief includes $50 million from our dedicated emergency rapid response fund to help hotels and hospitality businesses across the state. This sector was among the first to suffer and will be among the last to recover from the crisis. According to recent projections, 71% of hotels will not last more than 6 months at current projected revenue and occupancy levels. This $50 million in relief will be distributed by local jurisdictions to go toward payroll expenses, to keep people employed, and to assist with rent and utilities in order to help keep operations going while travel is restricted.
We are also providing another tranche of $30 million to add to our successful relief program for restaurants, bringing that fund to $80 million. We will be pressing the county governments to immediately distribute this money to those small businesses that are most in need, and once again, we are calling on the county governments to match this state investment in order to help our struggling small businesses and restaurants, help them make it through the winter, and to keep as many people on the payroll as they possibly can.
Today we are providing another $15 million in assistance to entertainment venues through our successful Main Street program at the Department of Housing and Community Development, bringing that total to $35 million.
As part of our relief initiative, we are providing another $5 million to help socially or economically disadvantaged businesses, specifically in our rural counties.
Today we are also announcing $40 million to provide a boost to the temporary cash assistance benefits over each of the next 6 months. This will help more than 66,000 Maryland families that are really struggling right now to make ends meet. And we will also be providing $40 million to the developmental disability care providers by accelerating their 4% increase to begin on January 1st, which is 6 months ahead of schedule.
More than 17,000 Marylanders benefit from these critical services. By the actions we’re taking today, we are providing a total of more than $600 million in emergency economic relief for the state. When the legislature returns to work next month for the 2021 session, we will be proposing a much larger economic and stimulus relief package which will provide further support for our struggling families and small businesses.
In addition to the actions that we are taking, there are things that you can all do to help your fellow citizens. Support your local restaurants as much as you can by utilizing carryout or delivery. Give to a local charity, nonprofit, or food bank. And do your holiday shopping at small mom and pop businesses, even maybe utilizing curb side pickup.
This is the season of giving, so please do whatever you can to help support our Maryland small businesses.
During Hanukkah, the festival of lights, we celebrate the victory of hope over fear and light over darkness. In the Christian faith, the Christmas season is a time of great joy and anticipation as we await the birth of Jesus.
This year I’m reminded of a line from the song O Holy Night: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn.”
This has been an incredibly long and very difficult year for each and every one of us and we’re all weary and we’re ready to put 2020 behind us. But during this holiday season, regardless of your faith, let’s all reflect on a spirit of hope, that more vaccines are on the way, that more economic relief is coming to those who need it, and that victory over this deadly virus truly is on the horizon.
With your help and with your continued vigilance, now and into the new year, we can all be hopeful and set our sights on a better, healthier, happier, and more prosperous 2021.
At this time I’m going to turn it over to transportation Secretary Greg Slater. Yesterday was a busy day for the secretary, who oversaw the statewide response to our first winter storm of the year and testified before the Board of Public Works as we advanced an agreement of the completion of the purple line which he and his team did an incredible job on. And yesterday I joined Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Washington, D.C. Mayor Bowser for a videoconference to discuss our regional response from COVID-19, and following up on that discussion earlier today, the three of us sent a joint letter to the President-elect and his transportation team urging them to provide increased federal support for metro.
I think Secretary Slater this week is the one year on the job I want to thank him for his incredible leadership on all of these issues and ask him to provide some details on travel safety this holiday season.
GREG SLATER: Thank you, Governor.
You can’t tell from here in Annapolis, but yesterday we saw the biggest snow storm in our region in years, and our crews were out there all across our transportation network. I would like to thank the public for truly staying home and allowing to us do that work. Because of COVID, the complexities of fighting this storm were very different than what we’ve done before. We had to make sure our teams were following our proper training and protocols that we’ve had in place for months but also specific measures associated with a winter storm. We couldn’t have more than one person in the cab of a truck. We had to spread out bunking areas for the men and women working all night in different parts of the building than ever before. We had to do enhanced cleaning in between every driver change on our vehicles. And we had to make sure that face coverings and distancing were taking place at every step of fighting this storm.
The effects of COVID-19 have been unprecedented, touching every aspect of life in Maryland. For me it has also shown the tremendous resiliency of our contractors and partners and employees who keep Marylanders working every day. Throughout the pandemic, our crews along the roadways have helped essential workers report to duty every day. At the same time, the port of Baltimore and BWI airport have kept that critical supply chain open.
Our container volumes today at the port of Baltimore are up 14% compared to last year. And at BWI airport, we’ve issued 1600 new badges for new jobs in the private sector throughout operations in our supply chain.
So if you’ve gotten a package this holiday season, it has likely come through BWI Marshall Airport or port of Baltimore.
MTA keeps our truck drivers on the road and our crews have advanced and completed critical projects during this pandemic. It’s truly a team effort, and what they do in weather like yesterday, showing up when Maryland needs us the most, immediately adjusting our practices to safe practices. Some of the accomplishments, completing the Bay Bridge a year ahead of schedule, running shuttles for essential workers in hospitals, using state highway crews to deliver PPE, completing construction projects, Maryland 180 in Frederick, transported 100,000 workers every day on Baltimore school buses, responded to 31,000 incidents on our roadways so far this year including 500 in the last two days in this winter storm.
I’m especially proud of the purple line agreement with our partners approved just yesterday with the Board of Public Works. Thanks to Governor Hogan for helping every step of the way. We’ve taken that next major step getting that project delivered.
But while navigating this pandemic, we’ve had to adjust the way we work, we’ve had to take precautions, to keep our crews, contractors, and the public safe. While a significant amount of our workforce is teleworking, you can’t run a transportation workforce without front line workers who are critical in keeping that system running. We’ve been providing front line employees with face coverings and hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes while building Plexiglas screens and barriers in place where our crews are in contact with the public. Our facilities have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, and we provide screening for all of our employees and customers and visitors.
Because our work is truly essential, we can’t be safe unless you stay safe, our traveling public. As COVID-19 is picking up, we join Governor Hogan in asking all Marylanders to stay home for the holidays. If you don’t have to travel, please don’t. That’s a bit of a different message than we’ve done in the past. If you don’t have to travel, please don’t. This holiday season, please give the gift of good health by avoiding nonessential travel to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to protect you and your families. Simply put: Don’t travel unless necessary. We’ll be sharing that message on our highway overhead signs, our transit stations and at BWI. You’ll see these fliers everywhere, these visual aids, about giving the gift of good health during the pandemic and keeping your guard up so that cases stay down.
So please know, if you must travel, our team will be ready. Here are some reminders that will help keep you safe. Out on the road, our chart vehicles and emergency response technicians will be out patrolling with breakdowns and emergencies. If you must fly, remember the terminal at BWI is open only to ticketed passengers and employees, and you must wear a face covering within the airport. Passengers can get free masks at airport information desks. For those using transit, you must have a face covering. We ask riders to maintain social distancing. We have shields in place between bus operators and riders and all of our operators are wearing face coverings.
With the Governor’s announcement about closing public-facing government operations, MDOT will be closing our EZ Pass customer service centers, MTA store, and all MVA branches to limit the amount of in-person interaction. We encourage our customers to take advantage of our online services that are available from the comfort and safety of your own home at MTA.maryland.gov.
For our MTA customers, the reduced fare certifications due to expire during this time will continue to be honored. Our customers can purchase senior or disability monthly passes online from our website. And our regular transit fares can be purchased through our mobile transit fare app or from a ticket vending location at a station. Our MVA customers, we will be reaching out to reschedule those appointments very quickly and efficiently for you.
So we appreciate our customers understanding that at the end of the day, the safest place to be for this holiday season is home for the holidays. And again, we at MDOT can’t stay safe unless you stay safe. We have to interact with you to run this supply chain and the best gift you can give our loved ones in 2020 is a safe and healthy start to 2021.
Thank you.
GOVERNOR HOGAN: Thank you, Greg.
I would be happy to take some questions.
(Question off mic).
I think the judge actually said that he didn’t follow the same kind of protocols we did. He specifically said that the state orders were in order and I think his thoughts were that perhaps the act was arbitrary.
(Question off mic).
We haven’t got a lot of information on that yet. We just heard some of this today, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of it. It is not apparently going to impact our first batches, for the first week or two. The only ones the government said we anticipate getting 300,000 by the end of the year, hopefully that’s still the case between the two companies. It won’t impact the first 155,000, which we’ve already received from Pfizer. We’re trying to figure out the details of it. Basically they did tell us while these were projections that every Friday they would give us a confirmation after talking with the producers of what was going to be shipped the following Monday, that week. So tomorrow we may have more information, but I don’t think it’s impacting our first shipments, and hopefully will not have a big impact on the second round. But the federal government is going to be updating us weekly as they get updates from the manufacturers.
(Question off mic).
Every single hospital in the state and every single region and every single nursing home will have them by next week.
(Question off mic).
I don’t think the weather will affect us. They go directly from the federal government to the hospitals. We don’t bus them. And they will be getting theirs next week.
(Question off mic).
We have these meetings periodically because we really, it’s important we think to know we’re so interconnected in the Washington region, between the three states. People live in one jurisdiction and work in another, back and forth. One thing we’ve reached agreement on, both Governor Northam and I are providing vaccines to the District of Columbia who did not receive enough to handle their healthcare workers that actually are residents of our state, so we provided 8,000 to them just for Maryland residents who work in the D.C. hospitals, and Virginia did the same. A big part of our conversation was about Lamoda and the additional $500 billion shortfall, $500 million shortfall, and how we’re going to work with the new administration about how to get some federal help which we think will be greatly needed.
And we did, each of us, went through the actions we currently had in place and things that we were considering, and we’re all pretty much in alignment. I mean, everybody has little different nuances here and there, but I don’t think anybody is too drink from the other.
(Question off mic).
We’re talking about flying out of the state or traveling to places outside of our region. Obviously we have hundreds of thousands of people who travel to D.C. and back every day. Same thing with Virginia.
Sorry. I’ll come back to you, Brad, I promise.
(Question off mic).
We’re obviously thrilled and I think we all expected it. As I said, I was on a call with Fauci earlier today. I spoke to Stephen Hahn, the FDA commissioner, a couple days ago, and it is a relief. We expected it but it’s always good to finally get a decision and it just means more help is on the way.
(Question off mic).
Well, I’ll tell ya, the last day that we need right now in the middle of this economic crisis, with so many small business owners and so many individuals suffering, is to increase taxes on them. I mean, we’re trying to provide relief to keep them in business. And then to charge a new tax to try to put them out of business makes no sense whatsoever, so we’re going to be doing everything we can to convince our friends in the legislature that they should not override the veto and they should not impose a new tax in the middle of the pandemic of any kind.
(Question off mic).
Maybe Dr. Chan can talk about that. We’re going to have a very aggressive marketing and outreach campaign. We’ve had numerous discussions with all of the local elected officials and legislators from that area. We’re going to continue to talk with them on nearly a weekly basis, and I think we’re going to do everything we can to get the message out in every single corner of the state.
I don’t know if you have anything to add about that.
JINLENE CHAN: Thank you for the question. And the Governor covered exactly, you know, the approach that we’re taking. We’re also engaging with community organizations and community leaders all across the state to assist. And they’re providing input now in terms of how we should roll out our campaign and what kind of messages, and we’re taking that input very seriously. So we’re not doing it alone by any means. We’re really engaging with as many partners as we can across the state.
(Question off mic).
So, you know, we have engaged as many of the nursing homes and assisted livings as we can in that federal program. It’s not necessarily an authorization for them to receive the vaccine. This is help that the federal government is providing to all the states, and Maryland is taking advantage of it and actually has activated that program.
(Question off mic).
Nursing homes.
GOVERNOR HOGAN: Sorry. The very first ones are hospital — the most important front-line providers in our hospitals and our residents and staff at nursing homes.
Also in our number one category will include other long-term care facilities including assisted living, but that is not in this first batch because we’re not even getting to that 1A category. And assisted living are not in as a vulnerable position as they are in nursing homes where they have underlying health conditions. That’s where 52% of our deaths have been and where the most vulnerable are, but we’re definitely going to include other long-term care facilities as we work our way down the list, and they’re next in line.
(Question off mic).
Well, you know, we’re not going to be out there checking people or having law enforcement come after people for traveling. We’re just going to rely on the good faith of the people who will listen to these orders because they’re critically important to keeping people alive and we’re going to try to ensure as much compliance as we can and just get people to cooperate.
(Question off mic).
It was me, actually. Look, I first of all, it’s pretty unusual. I do try to engage with people as they ask questions or express themselves, and quite frankly, after 9 months of working day and night, 7 days a week, I woke up at 3:00 this morning and people are spewing angry hateful things every day, all day, on Facebook. And I just said something about I’m tired of the comments. I didn’t really call anybody anything, but I did say stupid comments and I probably shouldn’t have.
(Question off mic).
Absolutely. Yeah. People are repeatedly saying we’re sick and tired of hearing from you, we don’t want to listen to anything you have to say. I very politely said, you know, if you just unlike my page, you won’t have to listen to anything I say. I thought it was appropriate.
SPEAKER: Last question.
[Laughter]
GOVERNOR HOGAN: It was really easy. You don’t have to listen to me anymore.
(Question off mic).
That was very observant of you. I went to the dermatologist. Nothing serious. Little Band-Aid here. No, not skin cancer. Just those of us who are old and spend a lot of time in the sun, you know, these things they just take off.
SPEAKER: Thank you.