The Washington Post - 19.03.2020

B2 eZ sU THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAy, MARCH 19 , 2020

covid-19 symptoms such as fever,

cough and shortness of breath.

That way, dispatchers can advise

responding officers to “take ap-

propriate s afety precautions.”

In addition, officers will ask to

speak to people who call “out-

doors when p ossible” a nd to main-

tain a distance as they interact.

Police also urged residents to file

for r outine police r eports o r none-

mergencies o nline.

Johns Hopkins University said

its may graduation ceremonies

will be h eld online. I n-person cele-

brations will happen at a later

date. Georgetown University said

it was postponing commence-

ment ceremonies.

With thousands of parents

working f rom h ome while l ooking

after restless children, borrowing

soared at the D.C. Public Library

before it closed to visitors m onday.

richard reyes-Gavilan, the li-

brary’s executive director, tweeted

that more people checked out

more books f rom friday t o Sunday

than in all of february.

“This is the only acceptable

form of h oarding,” the tweet said.

montgomery County Council

member Will Jawando (D-At

Large) tried to offer some relief by

hosting a daily virtual story time

from his office in rockville on

Wednesday. Seated on his couch,

he opened his first book, “Waiting

Is Not Easy!” b y mo Willems.

“Now, how many of you know I

picked this book because it’s hard

right now to stay in the house, not

be at school, not see your friends

and wait for this to be over?” he

said. “But it’s t he right thing to d o.”

darr [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Keith l. alexander, Perry stein, Peter

Hermann, Fenit nirappil, rebecca

tan, Patricia sullivan, laura Vozzella,

luz lazo, ovetta Wiggins and susan

svrluga contributed to this report.

in other areas, as well, including

public transportation.

metro, which is operating on a

reduced schedule, a sked r esidents

to stay home so the available

trains can be used by hospital

staff, first responders and others

who need to travel. r idership on

the rail s ystem d ropped by 80 p er-

cent on Tuesday.

Amid plummeting revenue and

higher c osts t o protect employees,

the transit agency said it was fac-

ing a budget deficit of more than

$50 million and was seeking

emergency assistance from Con-

gress.

officials said the DC Circulator

is suspending fares on all routes,

so passengers can board at all

entrances, at safe distances from

one a nother.

D.C. police announced “opera-

tional adjustments” so they could

respond to residents while also

minimizing officers’ possible ex-

posure to the coronavirus and the

general public.

The police force urges people

calling 911 to tell the operator

whether they are experiencing

said.

About 75 percent of maryland’s

hospital beds are occupied, said

Timothy Chizmar, the state EmS

medical director at the maryland

Institute for Emergency medical

Services Systems, which conducts

a daily s urvey.

major hospital systems in the

state, including Johns Hopkins

Health and the University of

maryland medical System, have

suspended elective surgeries to

increase their capacities to treat

coronavirus patients.

“It’s a logistical nightmare for

my p hysicians,” s aid Gene ransom,

chief executive of the maryland

State medical Society. “But the key

thing is that it frees up space.”

ransom said h ospitals s tatewide

are seeing historic lows in terms of

patients, as officials have warned

people to stay away. But they are

preparing for a dramatic increase

in patient volume as the number of

cases continues to increase.

“We just don’t know h ow big the

bump will be,” he said.

The ripple effect of the corona-

virus crisis continued to play out

D.C. officials said there are

3,273 licensed acute-care hospital

beds in the city. In a statement,

health officials said they are com-

mitted to supporting the health-

care system throughout the pan-

demic, “including implementing

strategies to manage current and

future needs.”

In maryland, officials hope to

add about 6,000 hospital beds

across t he state’s four dozen hospi-

tals, s aid Dennis r. S chrader, chief

operating officer and medicaid di-

rector of the maryland Depart-

ment of Health. The state has

about 7,400 operational beds.

Schrader said officials have de-

termined that 900 beds can be

made available i mmediately. T hey

are hopeful that hospitals can add

another 1,000 beds statewide in

existing facilities in the next 45

days. He said some existing areas

will have to reopen, some minor

construction will have to be done

and some nontraditional spaces

will have to be opened to accom-

modate the a dditional 4,100 beds.

“We are planning for the worst

and hoping for the best,” Schrader

virus have b een able t o recuperate

at home. Critical cases will be

admitted to the hospital.

“It’s all about how we use our

staff in a smart and effective way,”

Petinaux said.

In Arlington, the Virginia Hos-

pital Center set up the drive-

through testing site in partner-

ship with several county agencies.

The tests, open only to Arlington

County residents or employees

with pre-submitted doctor’s or-

ders, will take five to seven busi-

ness days to be processed. Chief

Nursing o fficer m elody Dickerson

said the hospital has enough test

kits for the i mmediate future.

Throughout Virginia, there are

about 1 8,500 licensed hospital

beds, i ncluding a bout 2,000 inten-

sive care unit beds, said Julian

Walker, a spokesman with the V ir-

ginia Hospital and Healthcare As-

sociation.

Six regional health-care coali-

tions in Virginia that help coordi-

nate emergency responses collec-

tively have another 400 ventila-

tors that could be deployed to

hospitals if needed.

planning to add t housands of h os-
pital beds and working with sup-
ply chain partners to ensure there
is enough protective gear, includ-
ing masks, gowns and gloves.
“Everybody is working 24/7 to
get ready for what could be com-
ing,” said Bob Atlas, president of
the maryland Hospital Associa-
tion.
In i ts first six hours of collecting
coronavirus swabs at a temporary
drive-through testing site, Virgin-
ia Hospital Center in Arlington
tested 6 0 people.
But another Virginia provider,
Sentara Healthcare system, said it
was closing three drive-through
sites in Hampton roads because
supplies were running low after it
screened 1,760 people and tested
786 in just three days. officials said
they were working with federal
and state officials t o get more tests.
With schools closed and the re-
gion in virtual lockdown for most
of this week, the number of cases
has climbed to 203. maryland add-
ed 23 coronavirus cases on
Wednesday, bringing the state’s to-
tal to 86. Virginia reported 10 cases,
for a total of 77. The District an-
nounced eight new patients, b ring-
ing its total to 40. most of the new
maryland and Virginia cases are in
the populous Washington suburbs.
Among the patients who have
tested positive are a child from
rocketship rise Academy Public
Charter School in Southeast
Washington and a U.S. marshal
who works i n D.C. Superior C ourt.
In an email to parents, the
school — which serves prekinder-
garten through fourth-grade stu-
dents — said that the “child is tak-
ing the necessary precautions and
following the advice of their medi-
cal professional.” The case is the
first known to involve a minor in
the city.
A spokesman for the U.S. mar-
shals Service said the marshal
works in room C-10, where new
arrestees — as many as 20 to 100 a
day — are brought through for
detainment hearings, w ith d ozens
of family members and attorneys
in the audience. He was tested
after h aving flu-like symptoms
last week and has not been in the
courtroom s ince friday.
Virginia Gov. ralph Northam
(D ) said there are three “out-
breaks” i n his state, meaning clus-
ters of patients where t wo or more
can be traced to common expo-
sure. one of those outbreaks is on
the p eninsula, i n James City Coun-
ty, where there have been 17 con-
firmed cases.
Virginia labs have capacity to
process 260 to 360 tests, said Nor-
man oliver, the state health com-
missioner. officials anticipate re-
ceiving new reagents from the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention within the next day,
which would increase capacity.
Northam floated the idea of
activating the National Guard,
which he said might be able to
help deliver food, providing staff-
ing at h ospitals or erecting t ents at
hospitals to increase c apacity.
Hogan has already d eployed the
maryland National Guard to help
enforce shutdowns and provide
other assistance, and D.C. mayor
muriel E. Bowser ( D) has launched
the process for activating the D.C.
National Guard if needed.
At GWU, officials said the new
tent would limit exposure to the
virus by separating coronavirus
cases from the larger population.
Patients can be triaged and tested
there, and those who are well
enough to be sent home will be.
Bruno Petinaux, the hospital’s
chief medical officer, said 80 per-
cent of patients infected with the

regIon from B1

Md. reports first virus fatality; area hospitals face limitations

tonI l. sandys/tHe WasHIngton Post

A health-care worker signals a driver to pull forward at a temporary drive-through collection site in Arlington on Wednesday, as coronavirus cases continued to climb.

PHotos By BIll o’leary/tHe WasHIngton Post

Morning rush hour was noticeably light in silver spring, left, as Metro reduced its operating hours on Wednesday amid the coronavirus

pandemic. trains will run every 15 minutes on all lines, with buses on a sunday schedule. DC Circulator fares have been suspended.

symptoms, Hudson said. The
number of quarantined firefight-
ers w as first reported by WrC-TV.
Gregory m. Dean, chief of the
D.C. fire department, issued a
brief statement Tuesday confirm-
ing that one firefighter had tested
positive. The statement made no
mention of other firefighters un-
der quarantine, how the firefight-
er may have been infected or
where the firefighter had been
stationed.
In a statement Wednesday
night, Dean announced that the
second firefighter’s test had come
back positive.
A spokesman for the depart-
ment said Wednesday that ques-

fIrefIgHters from B1 tions should be directed to the
office of mayor muriel E. Bowser,
which is coordinating responses
to the coronavirus outbreak. That
office did not respond to an inqui-
ry seeking additional details
about the firefighters or the im-
pact on the department.
The incidents show the unique
challenges the virus p oses to first
responders, who must continue to
be available for calls for service
and come into contact with mem-
bers of the p ublic who are dis-
tressed, sick or injured in some
way.
on monday, a metro Transit
Police officer tested positive for
the coronavirus, forcing the de-
partment to isolate seven employ-
ees. The officer worked out of a

station near the franconia-

Springfield metro. Its officers po-

lice all stations, rails and b uses

south of the metro Center and

Gallery Place-Chinatown sta-

tions.

Police union officials also shut

down a conference room at the

fraternal order of Police lodge in

Northwest Washington after the

officer attended two meetings

there last w eek, Gerald G. Neill Jr.,

president of the D.C. Lodge No. 1,

told union members in an email.

A total of 18 firefighters and

emergency medical technicians

from Prince George’s County were

put under quarantine after au-

thorities learned that they had

been inside a home occupied by a

man who tested positive for the

coronavirus. one firefighter who

showed flu-like symptoms was

tested, and the results were nega-

tive.

The District firefighter who

tested positive for the coronavirus

worked out of Engine Company 19

on Pennsylvania Avenue SE and at

Engine Company 32 in Garfield

Heights, also in Southeast Wash-

ington. Hudson, the union presi-

dent, said that the firefighter re-

ported becoming ill last week a nd

that the test results came back

monday.

Hudson said officials with the

D.C. Health Department are going

through all the infected firefight-

er’s emergency runs and reaching

out to patients and other mem-

bers of the public a nd hospital

staff w ho may have had contact

with him.

firefighters work and live in

proximity to each other. Their

shifts are for 24 hours and they

reside, cook, socialize and sleep in

station houses. Some newer sta-

tions are spacious, b ut the District

has several built a century ago,

and in those it is more difficult to

maintain distance.

Hudson said firefighters,

whenever possible, are keeping

their beds six feet apart and trying

not to congregate in common ar-

eas, such as kitchens or “watch

rooms,” where maps, computers

and logs are kept.

The union president said he

reminds firefighters to shower af-

ter calls and to frequently wash

their hands. He a lso is urging that

people who call for help, if possi-

ble, should meet firefighters or

paramedics outside their homes,

minimizing exposures for every-

one. D.C. police issued a similar

directive on Wednesday.

Hudson said it is impossible to

be fully prepared.

“It’s overwhelming,” he said.

“People’s perception is that we’re

not prepared enough. We’re 100

percent not prepared. This is a

worldwide pandemic. Hospitals

are running out of beds. We’re

running out of ventilators. We

have to minimize our exposure.”

[email protected]

Clarence Williams contributed to this

report.

Dozens of D.C. firefighters, paramedics u nder quarantine, union leader says

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