B2 ez sU the washington post.friday, march 13 , 2020
the coronavirus outbreak
BY KATHERINE SHAVERmetro officials said Thursday
they want to maintain full sub-
way and bus service as long as
possible but are preparing for the
possibility that they would need
to scale back service if too many
employees call in sick because of
the novel coronavirus.
So far, about 3 percent of the
agency’s employees remain ab-
sent daily, on par with normal
rates, metro officials said.
Concerns about the spread of
the virus are affecting ridership,
as metro passengers took
100,000 fewer rail trips Wednes-
day compared with the same day
last week, officials said. It w as the
first day that the rail system saw
significant effects, presumably
because of e mployers encourag-
ing workers to telework and com-
muters avoiding public transpor-
tation over fear of the virus. Bus
ridership numbers aren’t yet
available, officials said.
metro General manager Paul J.
Wiedefeld said the agency wants
to “maintain service as much as
we can as long as we can” but is
continuing to assess how best to
keep customers and employees
safe.
“We all know this is changing
minute by minute, so we want to
remain flexible,” Wiedefeld told
metro board members.
“We are going over what-ifs,”
he said.
Wiedefeld added during a fol-
low-up briefing with reporters:
“A lot of people still need to get
around — hospital workers, for
instance.... I don’t envision
shutting down the system, but
again, let’s see how this plays
out.”
Theresa Impastato, metro’s
chief safety officer, told board
members the agency is identify-
ing “critical functions” needed to
operate and maintain the system.
“We’re accelerating the plan-
ning process for all potential
scenarios,” I mpastato said.
Wiedefeld said the agency is
preparing for the chance that it
might have to enter Phase 3 of the
agency’s 15-year-old “Pandemic
flu Plan” f or the first time. That
would entail making service
changes or cuts and opening the
agency’s emergency operations
center.
metro has been in Phase 2 of
the plan since maryland Gov.
Larry Hogan (r) announced late
last week that the state had its
first confirmed coronavirus cas-
es. So far, Impastato said, the
agency has been disinfecting rail-
ings, elevator buttons, seats and
other “common touch points” in
stations, rail cars, buses and
metro Access vehicles daily. It’s
also monitoring employee ab-
sences and ridership after every
morning and evening rush peri-
od.
Impastato told reporters the
agency is in “consistent commu-
nication” with public health offi-
cials. If advised of an infected
passenger in “near real time,” s he
said, the rail car, bus or metroAc-
cess vehicle would be taken out of
service for a “full cleaning and
sanitation,” and station entranc-
es and other surfaces that the
passenger might have touched
would be sanitized.
metro is planning ways to
curtail service to do “spot clean-
ing” of stations, trains and vehi-
cles as necessary, she said. metro
also could use SmarTrip card
data to determine where an in-
fected passenger traveled in the
system, Impastato said.
Asked about the additional
costs of virus prevention mea-
sures, Wiedefeld said metro is
keeping track of its spending and
could apply for federal aid. How-
ever, he said, the agency is look-
ing beyond those costs now.
“If we need more people out
there or we need more supplies,”
he said, “we’ll get them.”
metro officials said they’re
continuing to encourage rail and
bus passengers to frequently
wash or sanitize their hands as
the best way to prevent the virus
from spreading.
[email protected]
THE rEGIOn
Metro rail,
bus service
could be
scaled back
Dabney Hudson, president of
the union representing D.C. fire-
fighters, said dispatchers at the
office of Unified Communica-
tions, the 911 center, are trying to
screen calls to isolate potential
virus patients, so firefighters and
paramedics can prepare before
arriving at a call.
Hudson said only two firefight-
ers or paramedics will assess a
patient who either fears having
the coronavirus or exhibits symp-
toms, instead of an entire crew of
four or six people. If there is a real
concern, they wear protective
gear that includes masks, gloves
and face shields.
At many hospitals in the Dis-
trict, Hudson said patients who
are suspected of having the virus
are triaged inside the ambulance,
parked away from the emergency
room entrance. Then the ambu-
lance has to be removed from the
street and disinfected.
“We’re trying to work through
it,” Hudson said. “We make sure
we have access to protective
equipment, such as masks. But I
don’t think we’re ever going to
have enough masks to go around.
It’s not feasible when we have a
thousand calls a day.”
[email protected]
[email protected]ann e. Marimow, Justin Jouvenal,
Keith l. alexander and Rachel Weiner
contributed to this report.protective gear “as a precaution,”
spokeswoman Ashley Savage
said, and canceled an anti-drunk-
en-driving event scheduled for
this weekend.
The issues in the D.C. region
illustrate the dangers and com-
plexities faced by first responders
and other public safety entities.
The dozen firefighters and
EmTs in Prince George’s County
now under self-quarantine had at
one time or another been in the
infected man’s h ome during three
separate visits by emergency per-
sonnel over the course of a
month. It was unclear how many
had direct contact with the man,
described only as in his 60s.
The county’s chief health offi-
cer, Ernest L. Carter, said there is
no evidence the man, Prince
George’s fourth confirmed coro-
navirus patient, had traveled.
Stephen Bigelow Jr., the chair-
man of the union that represents
D.C. police officers, said efforts by
government officials and others
to cancel large-scale events are
helpful to officers who often are
assigned or volunteer to work
security and crowd control.
But he said preventing the
coronavirus among first respond-
ers who must work in the com-
munity will be difficult. “Honest-
ly, I don’t know how you prevent
it from spreading, short of wear-
ing masks everywhere you go,” he
said.such as the popular coffee with a
cop events. He said roll call
rooms, where officers are briefed
in stations before their shifts, are
cleaned after every meeting.
Court officials across the re-
gion also are taking steps to limit
the number of people entering
the normally busy courthouses.
federal court officials in Wash-
ington on Thursday announced
restricted access to the U.S. Dis-
trict Court and the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Un-
der the new guidelines, only judg-
es, court staff, reporters and peo-
ple with “official business with
the courts” would be allowed to
enter the courthouse.
The maryland judiciary an-
nounced it would be suspending
jury trials starting monday
through April 3, “given recom-
mendations from public health
authorities to limit large gather-
ings.” I n D.C. Superior Court, em-
ployees who monitor defendants
under court supervision may be
permitted to monitor hearings by
telephone, city officials said.
And the Eastern District of
Virginia, which includes federal
courthouses in Alexandria, rich-
mond, Norfolk and Newport
News, is postponing all hearings
for m isdemeanor, traffic and pet-
ty offenses that are scheduled
between march 16 and April 30.
Arlington County’s police de-
partment has ordered additionalsecurity consultant, said law en-
forcement agencies should even
consider how they respond to
calls that are not emergencies.
“Do we need to roll police to
homes to take a burglary report,”
Linskey said, “or can it just be
taken over the phone?”
In addition to the scare in
Prince George’s County, two D.C.
firefighters have self-quaran-
tined after responding to an inci-
dent, according to the head of the
firefighters union. District offi-
cials did not respond to questions
seeking further details.
D.C. Police Chief Peter News-
ham said his officers have been
trained in dealing with the virus,
and many carry protective cloth-
ing because they often interact
with people at risk for hepatitis,
influenza and other infectious
diseases. He said officers who
come in contact with someone
showing signs of the virus can ask
them if they will put on a mask,
and if they refuse, the officers will
put one on themselves.
“The key for us is to ensure our
officers have sufficient informa-
tion about how the virus is trans-
mitted to ensure they don’t come
in contact with it,” Newsham said.
“A nyone who exhibits symptoms,
we ask them to stay home.”
The chief said the department
is evaluating on a case-by-case
basis events it hosts that attract
groups or invite close contact,BY PETER HERMANN
AND PAUL DUGGANA dozen firefighters and emer-
gency medical technicians in
maryland are under quarantine
after authorities learned they had
been inside a home in Prince
George’s County occupied by a
man who tested positive for the
coronavirus.
Tiffany D. Green, chief of the
county’s fire and emergency med-
ical services, said one firefighter
has shown flu-like symptoms that
include a fever and is being tested
for the virus. The others, all self-
quarantined in their homes, will
be tested if they become ill.
“We’re following our normal
infectious disease procedures,”
Green said, adding that firefight-
ers have been trained on how to
monitor themselves for symp-
toms of covid-19, the disease
caused by the virus, and will
notify county officials if they
show signs of the illness.
Authorities in the area and
across the country are starting to
grapple with how first respond-
ers deal with the fast-spreading
contagion, as they respond to
calls for crime and medical help
while trying to keep themselves
safe and minimize exposing their
colleagues and families.
Daniel Linskey, a former su-
perintendent in chief of the Bos-
ton Police Department and now aMarylandA dozen first responders in quarantine after possible exposure
ings — including the State House
in Annapolis.
“for marylanders, the actions
that I have announced here today
will be disruptive to your every-
day lives, and they may sound
extreme, and they sound fright-
ening,” Hogan said. “But they
could be the difference in saving
lives and helping keep people
safe.”
Hogan said it was “impossible
to know how long this threat” will
last. Businesses essential to soci-
ety — grocery stores, restaurants
and gas stations — should stay
open, he said.
maryland Chief Judge mary
Ellen Barbera ordered all civil
and criminal jury trials in circuit
courts to be suspended between
monday and April 3. Judicial
hearings may be conducted dur-
ing that time, Barbera said in a
statement.
Hogan announced the state’s
first coronavirus cases march 5
and declared a state of emergency
to speed the delivery of funding
and other resources. Since then,
eight more cases have been diag-
nosed — although the state’s offi-
cial tally is 12, because one of
those eight patients lives in mon-
tana and has not been formally
classified as a maryland case.
The governor and other offi-
cials said they are particularly
concerned that one of the cases
reported in maryland over the
last week — a person from Prince
George’s County — appears to be a
“community transmission.” That
means the patient is not known to
have been exposed to someone
else confirmed to have the virus.
Virginia and the District have
also reported community trans-
missions.
In the District, which has re-
ported 11 cases, mayor muriel E.
Bowser declared a state of emer-
gency Wednesday.
Northam (D), a pediatrician by
training, said Virginia is develop-
ing its own coronavirus tests, and
urged public schools to make
their own decisions on whether to
cancel classes. Loudoun County
Public Schools will be closed
through next week.
As h e announced several newly
diagnosed cases, Northam criti-
cized the federal government’s
response to the outbreak, saying,
“It has become clear to everyone
that states... n eed to take aregion from B1Drastic
action
taken
in region
greater leadership role.”
“We have new cases in Virginia
just since I spoke to you all yester-
day. And quite frankly, we’re get-
ting mixed messages from the
federal government,” the gover-
nor said. “We find that unaccept-
able, so I’m taking the lead on
this.” He did not elaborate on his
criticism of the federal govern-
ment.
In the nation’s capital, a grow-
ing sense of urgency took hold.
To urs of the White House and the
Capitol Visitor Center were can-
celed until further notice, and
officials said access to the U.S.
Capitol, as well as House and
Senate office buildings, will be
shut off to tourists until April 1.
only staff members, the news
media and those conducting offi-
cial business will be able to enter.
rail ridership dropped by
100,000 trips Wednesday com-
pared with last week as compa-
nies encouraged teleworking,
metro board members were told
Thursday.
metro officials said they want
to maintain full subway and bus
service as long as possible but are
preparing for the possibility that
they would need to decrease ser-
vice if too many employees call in
sick or work from home.
Arlington’s transit agency is
deep-cleaning and sanitizing its
buses daily, while libraries have
removed “high-touch” i tems such
as shared toys.
A growing list of churches,
synagogues, entertainment ven-
ues and conference centers have
said they would curtail opera-tions or shut down for days.
Washington Archbishop Wil-
ton D. Gregory cited Hogan’s
emergency order when he an-
nounced masses would cease af-
ter friday and diocesan schools
would be closed from march 16 to
march 27. He said weddings and
funerals may still take place but
attendance should be limited to
immediate family.
“Please know that this decision
does not come lightly,” Gregory
said in a statement.“We are pro-
foundly saddened that we are not
able to celebrate our sacraments
as a community.”
In maryland, Prince George’s
County Executive Angela D. Also-
brooks (D) said the county was
entering a “new phase” in its
response because of the resident
who appears to have contracted
the disease without any known
travel to hot spots or contact with
a known patient.
“We are concerned. We cannot
trace at this moment where he
was exposed,” Alsobrooks said.
The man, who is in his 60s, is
hospitalized in “critical but sta-
ble” condition, said Alsobrooks
spokesman John Erzen. In the
days leading up to his diagnosis,
he largely stayed at home, Also-
brooks said. The man came into
contact with 12 firefighters over
three occasions, including when
he was transported to the hospi-
tal, officials said.
Virginia officials told House
lawmakers in richmond after-
noon of five new cases in the state.
Two of the cases are fairfax
County residents — one in his60s, the other in his 20s — who
had close contact with a woman
who tested positive for the virus
in North Carolina on march 9.
Both men are in isolation at
home, officials said.
A third person is from Arling-
ton County and is associated with
Christ Church in Georgetown, the
house of worship where the rec-
tor, the organist and a parishio-
ner from Loudoun County have
contracted covid-19.
This person was already quar-
antined at h ome when they devel-
oped symptoms, and is in good
condition, officials said. D.C. offi-
cials advised hundreds of people
who were at the church on specif-
ic dates in late february and early
march to stay home and monitor
their health for a 14-day incuba-
tion period.
No details were initially given
about the other two Virginia cas-
es reported Thursday.
Late in the afternoon, the Vir-
ginia Department of Health said a
person in Loudoun County and a
resident of Harrisonburg in their
60s had both been diagnosed
with the virus. Two residents of
the Newport News area also test-
ed positive — they are believed to
have acquired the virus during
international travels, the health
department said.
The total number of cases diag-
nosed in the state was not imme-
diately clear.
meanwhile, montgomery
County Health officer Travis Gay-
les said the three people who
were first reported to have covid-
19 in the Washington region haverecovered.
The three individuals — a cou-
ple in their 70s and an unrelated
woman in her 50s — had all
traveled on cruises along the Nile
river in Egypt that have been
linked to multiple cases of the
virus. They each recently tested
negative for the virus and have
been released from quarantine,
officials said.
But montgomery County Exec-
utive marc Elrich said the state’s
most populous county still has
patients ill with the virus, and will
remain vigilant and comply with
the new state restrictions.
“We do expect the number of
cases to increase,” Elrich said.
Elrich criticized the federal
government for not providing
greater resources and said the
county is facing a “major prob-
lem” with the lack of test kits.
In both Virginia and the Dis-
trict, the attorneys general issued
warnings against price-gouging
and scams following the emer-
gency declarations in their juris-
dictions, and urged residents to
report suspected wrongdoing.
In maryland, Hogan tried to
reassure residents.
“We will get through this to-
gether,” he said.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]vozzella reported from Richmond.
Paul Duggan, F enit nirappil, antonio
olivo, Michael Ruane, Katherine
shaver, Patricia sullivan, ovetta
Wiggins and Rebecca tan
contributed to this report.Michael Robinson chavez/the Washington Post
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