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Three coronavirus cases linked to D.C. church; Colleges cancel classes Three coronavirus cases linked to D.C. church; Colleges cancel classes
(32 minutes later)
Five new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Maryland and Virginia on Tuesday, and two local universities said they would temporarily halt in-person classes in an effort to stop the virus from spreading. Six new coronavirus cases were announced in Maryland and Virginia on Tuesday, and two local universities said they would temporarily halt in-person classes in an effort to stop the virus from spreading.
There are now 21 reported cases of coronavirus in the region. There are now 22 reported cases of coronavirus in the region.
Loudoun County officials said a man in his 40s who tested positive had attended Christ Church in Georgetown, where both the rector and the organist also were diagnosed with the virus. The man is in good condition, officials said.Loudoun County officials said a man in his 40s who tested positive had attended Christ Church in Georgetown, where both the rector and the organist also were diagnosed with the virus. The man is in good condition, officials said.
In Virginia Beach, the city health department said a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s had contracted the virus on a Nile River cruise that has been linked to multiple other cases. Both are isolated and in stable condition.In Virginia Beach, the city health department said a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s had contracted the virus on a Nile River cruise that has been linked to multiple other cases. Both are isolated and in stable condition.
Also Tuesday, Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks said a couple from the county who had been on a cruise overseas had tested positive for the coronavirus and were quarantined at home. Alsobrooks (D) said a county resident in her 50s who also has tested positive appears to have contracted the virus while on a trip to Boston from Feb. 22 to Feb. 27. A woman in Montogmery County who had been on the same Nile River cruise as other victims also was found to have the virus on Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said. A Prince George’s county couple who were also on the cruise have tested postive for the virus as well.
Prince George’s officials declined to say if the woman was attending a conference in Boston that has been linked to other coronavirus cases. They also would not say where and when the couple was on the cruise. All three Prince George’s patients are self-quarantined at home and in good condition.
See the latest live updates about the coronavirus hereSee the latest live updates about the coronavirus here
Alsobrooks spoke at the county emergency operations center in front of a giant digital map of the nation with a ticker of global coronavirus cases that, during the news conference, read: 116,152. Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks said another county resident in her 50s, who tested positive for the virus on Monday, appears to have contracted the virus while on a trip to Boston from Feb. 22 to Feb. 27, Alsobrooks said.
Prince George’s officials declined to say if the woman was attending a conference in Boston that has been linked to other coronavirus cases. All three Prince George’s patients are self-quarantined at home and in good condition.
Alsobrooks (D) spoke at the county emergency operations center in front of a giant digital map of the nation with a ticker of global coronavirus cases that, during the news conference, read: 116,152.
“This is a virus, and we expect it to spread,” she said. “We believe the public has a role in helping us to prevent it from spreading. Viruses spread, the flu spreads. But we have the power in our community to keep it from spreading.”“This is a virus, and we expect it to spread,” she said. “We believe the public has a role in helping us to prevent it from spreading. Viruses spread, the flu spreads. But we have the power in our community to keep it from spreading.”
Officials urged people who feel sick to stay home from work and school and repeated instructions for good hygiene, including thorough handwashing. Officials urged people who feel sick to stay home from work and school and repeated instructions for good hygiene, including thorough handwashing. School officials said health-related absences will be excused without a doctor’s note.
Barry L. Stanton, of Prince George’s County Public Schools, said health-related absences will be excused without a doctor’s note. The district is concerned about getting information out to underrepresented groups and is working on that, he said. Both Maryland’s public university system and American University in the District announced plans to keep students away from campus for a short time after spring break, teaching them online instead of in person, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus in the region. Other colleges and universities in the region and throughout the country are taking similar steps.
Fairfax County Public Schools canceled classes for its 188,000 students on Monday, so that teachers can attend training on how to conduct classes online, should that step become necessary.
Coronavirus in the DMV: Frequently asked questionsCoronavirus in the DMV: Frequently asked questions
Both Maryland’s public university system and American University in the District announced plans to keep students away from campus for a short time after spring break, teaching them online instead of in person, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus in the region. Colleges and universities throughout the country are taking similar steps. The newly diagnosed patient in Loudoun County is sick, but in good condition and self-isolating at home, county officials said. They said the man did not appear to have interacted with anyone who is elderly, immunocompromised or otherwise considered at high risk for covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.
In Loudoun, health director David Goodfriend said the newly diagnosed patient has had limited exposure to others in the county. “We are continuing to do everything in our power to keep Loudoun safe and healthy,” said Phyllis Randall (D), chair of the county board. “Any risk, right now, to the Loudoun community from this case remains low.”
“We know the risk of coronavirus disease — or COVID-19 — increases among close contacts of infected persons,” the county’s statement said. “In this case, based on the results of our contact investigation to date, the risk to the general Loudoun community remains low.” Authorities say people can limit the spread of the virus, and their susceptibility to it, by staying home if they are ill, washing their hands frequently and avoiding people who have respiratory symptoms. People who develop fever, cough or shortness of breath should consult health care providers about whether they should be tested.
Phyllis J. Randall (D), chairwoman of the county’s Board of Supervisors, urged residents to remain calm. At least three cases of the virus are connected to Christ Church, Georgetown, a historic Episcopal congregation.
“We anticipated that a case of COVID-19 would be diagnosed in our community at some point,” she said in the county’s statement. “It is important that we all follow the prevention guidance issued by the CDC to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.” Bowser on Monday asked people who had been at the church on Feb. 24 or between Feb. 28 and March 3 to quarantine themselves at home for a 14-day period. The specified dates were when the Rev. Timothy Cole, 59, the church rector who was diagnosed with the virus on Saturday, was in the building and may have been infectious. Among other things, Cole attended a March 3 “Legos for Lent” event where small children and adults had a buffet-style dinner together, church spokesman Rob Volmer said.
Those guidelines include staying home if ill, washing hands frequently and avoiding people who have respiratory symptoms. People who develop fever, cough or shortness of breath should consult health care providers about whether they should be tested. Cole is hospitalized in stable condition. The church organist, Tom Smith, 39, tested positive for the virus on Monday. He is in quarantine at home “in good spirits,” with mild symptoms, Volmer said. Smith was at Sunday services on March 1 and a choral event that evening, Volmer said, but did not attend other large events that week.
Bowser on Monday asked anyone who had been at Christ Church on Feb. 24 or between Feb. 28 and March 3 to quarantine themselves at home for the remainder of the 14-day incubation period.
Those were days when the Rev. Timothy Cole, 59, who was diagnosed with the virus on Saturday, was at the church and may have been infectious.
A church spokesman, Rob Volmer, said Cole attended a March 3 “Legos for Lent” event where small children and adults had a buffet-style dinner together.
Cole was diagnosed Saturday, and is hospitalized in stable condition. The church organist Tom Smith, 39, tested positive for the virus on Monday and is in quarantine at home with his husband “in good spirits,” with mild symptoms, Volmer said.
Smith was at Sunday services on March 1 and a choral event that evening, Volmer said, but did not attend other large events that week.
The diagnosis of the Loudoun man who attended the church was reported Tuesday.The diagnosis of the Loudoun man who attended the church was reported Tuesday.
Church members embrace quarantine as a necessary disruptionChurch members embrace quarantine as a necessary disruption
Church officials have heard from families making up roughly 200 people who are self-quarantining, Volmer said. In addition to Smith, Volmer said, other church staff members and their immediate families have been tested, with results negative or pending.Church officials have heard from families making up roughly 200 people who are self-quarantining, Volmer said. In addition to Smith, Volmer said, other church staff members and their immediate families have been tested, with results negative or pending.
Both Maryland’s public university system and American University in the District are preparing to keep students away from campus for a short time after spring break, teaching them online instead of in person, in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Washington region. Cole first became sick after returning from a Feb. 22 conference of Episcopal leaders in Louisville. D.C. health officials said they were still investigating where he may have contracted the virus. His case raised alarms because, unlike most of the other patients in the region, he had not traveled overseas or anywhere that an outbreak has been confirmed.
The actions announced Tuesday echoed similar steps colleges and universities are taking throughout the country in response to the public health emergency. Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, the largest Episcopal seminary in the United States, said Tuesday that a group of seminarians and two faculty members are under self quarantine since they were in contact with Cole.
“While the risk to our community remains low at this time, our precautionary actions will help limit potential exposure to COVID-19 and enhance our ability to manage and/or isolate any suspected or confirmed cases that may occur here,” American’s announcement said. None of them are showing symptoms of the virus, but officials at the seminary are asking that people who are at higher risk for serious illness stay away from the campus.
The District’s Georgetown Day School said it would close Tuesday for a deep cleaning because it has “community members who are closely affiliated” with Christ Church, a historic Episcopal congregation in the District’s Georgetown neighborhood. D.C. Health Director Laquandra Nesbitt said people who have come into contact with Christ Church attendees who are not showing symptoms of coronavirus do not need to change their habits. She said parents should not panic, for example, if their child is attending school with someone who has been in contact with a patient, but is not feverish or experiencing respiratory symptoms themselves.
Georgetown Day said it “does not expect this to be a long-term closure.” “This notion that if a student who is a contact of an asymptomatic contact of a case attends a particular school that something needs to happen in that school is not scientifically driven,” she said.
Three other D.C. schools were closed for deep cleaning Monday because their staff members either had contact with someone affiliated with Christ Church or with another coronavirus patient, a man who developed symptoms while staying in the District after traveling from Nigeria. That man was receiving treatment in Maryland. At a homeles shelter: A hot meal, a warm bed, and coronavirus warnings
All three schools — School Without Walls, D.C. International School and Mundo Verde — reopened Tuesday. Hogan said he has canceled all international travel for state workers and instructed all nursing homes and assisted living facility to limit visitors, measures he hopes will prevent an outbreak like the one in Kirkland, Wa. nursing home where 18 residents have died.
Cole, the Christ Church pastor, first became sick after returning from a Feb. 22 conference of Episcopal leaders in Louisville. “We want to do everything in our power to avoid that situation,” Hogan said at the start of a cabinet meeting in Annapolis. “This problem continues to evolve and escalate rapidly.”
SEC asks D.C.-based employees to work from home because of virus scare Hogan and other officials said they expect a rapid rise in diagnosed cases as testing expands. Like the rest of the nation, Maryland will soon move from trying to contain the virus to mitigating its impact, he said.
Bowser announced two other cases Monday night: a 77-year-old man who had attended the Biogen conference in Boston, which has been connected to several other cases; and a 79-year-old man about whom no other information was released. In Prince George’s County, officials have told hundreds of people, including police officers and emergency personnel, who worked at the Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor late last month to monitor themselves for symptoms. That’s because a person who attended the conference was diagnosed with the virus after he returned returned home to New Jersey.
In Virginia, officials said a Spotsylvania County resident in their 50s had tested positive, as had the spouse of a Fairfax City resident who was diagnosed with the virus over the weekend. The Fairfax City couple had been on a cruise boat in Egypt that is believed to have been the source of other infections. Alsobrooks cancelled three community forums this week, including a census workshop on Wednesday.
Earlier Monday, officials announced that an Arlington County resident in their 60s had developed fever, a cough and shortness of breath after an international trip, and was confirmed to have the virus. All federal courthouses in the Eastern District of Virginia has suspended “non-case related outside events,” including tours and naturalization ceremonies, at least through the end of March.
The person had limited contact with other people while ill, the state health department said, and is receiving medical care and recuperating. In Fairfax County, elected officials worked to maintain calm while wrestling with their own questions about when to consider closing schools open and cancel public meetings.
In Prince George’s County, there is also concern about a man who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill from Feb. 27 to March 1, and tested positive for the virus when he returned home to New Jersey. “I don’t think any one of us wants to be hosting the meeting that spreads this disease,” Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) said. “I don’t want to panic, but I also want to be smart.”
The thousands of people who attended or worked at CPAC, at the Gaylord resort at National Harbor, may be at risk of exposure, according to the Maryland Department of Health. Nick Anderson, Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Erin Cox, Dana Hedgpeth, Luz Lazo, Darran Simon, Patricia Sullivan, Rebecca Tan, Rachel Weiner and Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.
New Jersey, in conjunction with Maryland, is conducting the investigation, and will let relevant jurisdictions know if any of their residents are at higher risk, officials said.
Ernest Carter, a physician and the health officer for Prince George’s, said he met Monday with employees at National Harbor and instructed them to take their temperature twice a day. Should symptoms develop, he instructed them to contact their doctor and the county.
Police Chief Hank Stawinski said the county has contacted all 353 county police officers who worked at CPAC, and none are experiencing symptoms associated with coronavirus. The same goes for fire and EMS personnel who were there, he said.
Erin Cox, Dana Hedgpeth, Luz Lazo, Rebecca Tan and Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.