Governor Hogan appeared on NBC’s TODAY Show to discuss Maryland’s evidence-based recovery plan.
Yesterday, Governor Hogan began to publicly detail Maryland’s long-planned and gradual shift into the recovery phase of the state’s coronavirus response. Although Maryland’s case numbers continue to climb, Governor Hogan’s “early and aggressive actions” have put the state “in a position” to focus on recovery with “real reasons for hope and optimism” appearing in the data.
Adopting an approach of “cautious optimism,” Governor Hogan outlined the four key building blocks for Maryland’s recovery phase: expanding testing capacity, increasing hospital surge capacity, ramping up supply of PPE, and building a robust contact tracing operation. Governor Hogan’s coronavirus response team has been making substantial progress on all of these essential benchmarks for weeks.
Governor Hogan also issued a statewide order requiring masks and face coverings for grocery stores, pharmacies, retail establishments, and public transportation – another key part of the state’s long-term plan to responsibly lift current restrictions.
Governor Hogan has also continued to emphasize that states need substantial federal fiscal relief to prevent cuts to essential services that would “devastate the economic recovery.”
Later today, as chair of the National Governors Association, he will be leading another call with the President, Vice President, and the nation’s governors. This is the tenth call that Governor Hogan has led with the nation’s governors and the Trump administration to coordinate the national response to the pandemic.