MD Testing Coronavirus Drug In Montgomery County

BETHESDA, MD — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Wednesday announced that 1,600 doses of Remdesivir — an anti-viral drug designed to treat some COVID-19 patients — will be given to Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Gilead Sciences' Remdesivir is the only drug proven in a clinical study to shave several days off the recovery time of a seriously ill patient. Hogan said these initial doses will be sent immediately to Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The two jurisdictions have the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths.

"All of this puts us much closer to being able to launch Stage 1 of our reopening," Hogan said.

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In late April, the Republican governor unveiled "Maryland Strong Roadmap to Recovery," a three-stage plan designed to get the state back on its feet.

"When I introduced the Roadmap to Recovery, I said that if Marylanders continued staying home and continued practicing social distancing, I was hopeful that the key numbers we were tracking — the rate of hospitalizations and the number of patients in the ICU — would potentially plateau, perhaps as early as May," he said.

As of Wednesday, there have been 28,163 positive infections and 1,338 coronavirus deaths in Maryland. Currently, 1,707 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that total, 584 are in the ICU.

A day earlier, the statewide death toll stood at 1,290 and hospitalizations hovered around 1,693 — with 573 in the ICU. On Monday, the number of deaths, hospitalizations, and ICU patients were 1,216, 1,649, and 563, respectively.

"Fortunately, we are beginning to see those encouraging numbers. Over the past seven days, we have seen a good trend in hospitalizations, with five straight days downward and then a little bump up yesterday. But overall, we are down slightly from where we were a week ago," Hogan said. "Even more encouraging, is that our ICU numbers have been flat-level, at a plateau, for eight straight days."

"If these trends continue into next week," he continued, "we'll be ready to lift the stay-at-home order and to begin Stage 1 of our recovery plan."

According to Hogan's plan, Stage 1 would involve "business, community, religious, and quality of life improvements."

Examples of changes that could be implemented in this stage include reopening some small businesses and retail shops, car washes, golf courses, recreational boating, tennis, and outdoor religious and fitness activities. Local governments would also have flexibility to open playgrounds, municipal recreational centers, parks, and libraries.

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