MARYLAND — One week after Gov. Larry Hogan told protesters to get tested for the coronavirus, the state will open up a high-volume testing site at the Baltimore Convention Center. It will start operating Wednesday, and people can now schedule appointments online.
Those who get tested at the convention center will receive their results in two to five days, according to the University of Maryland Medical System, which is overseeing scheduling at the site.
It will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, and Friday, June 19, at 1 West Pratt Street in Baltimore.
“Our health experts are strongly encouraging anyone who attended any of the protests or gatherings in Maryland over the past two weeks to immediately get tested for the coronavirus,” Hogan said at a news conference Wednesday, June 10, as he announced the lifting of restrictions on indoor dining and starting Friday, June 19, the reopening of gyms, malls and casinos.
As more places reopen, health experts say it is important people get tested to ensure they are not spreading the virus unknowingly.
Over the past seven days, the rolling positivity rate was 6.20 percent statewide, meaning 6.2 percent of those tested for the virus came up positive.
In addition to the site at the convention center in Baltimore, a large testing site has been set up at Six Flags America theme park, which will offer appointment-free testing from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, and Friday, June 19, at 13710 Central Avenue in Upper Marlboro.
The Maryland State Fairgrounds is open Tuesdays and Thursday for drive-thru testing at 2200 York Road in Timonium. Make an appointment for testing at the fairgrounds online.
There are 62,409 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Maryland as of Tuesday, according to state health officials.
In the past day, 377 people tested positive for the virus, authorities reported, and nearly 10,500 tests have been conducted.
Since the pandemic began in March, state health officials say 511,288 coronavirus tests have been administered across Maryland.
See an interactive map of COVID-19 testing sites in Maryland, and schedule a test at the Baltimore Convention Center online.
Positive numbers are continuing with respect to hospitalizations and intensive care unit patients, based on the latest Maryland health data.
For two weeks in a row, the number of coronavirus patients on the intensive care unit has gone down, and for 20 days in a row, the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients also decreased.
However, not all the data points are positive.
The number of acute care patients with the virus in Maryland hospitals has increased for the past two days — from 438 on Sunday to 458 on Tuesday.
That said, the number of acute care patients overall has been trending down; a week ago, state health officials were reporting there were 587 patients with the virus in acute care.
Coronavirus in Maryland: A Snapshot
Here is a look at Maryland’s coronavirus numbers as of Tuesday, June 16:
Coronavirus At Group Living Facilities
Coronavirus data from congregate living facilities is updated weekly on Wednesdays.
Here are the numbers as of Tuesday, June 16:
Maryland Coronavirus Cases By Jurisdiction
Maryland Coronavirus Cases By Age And Gender
Maryland Coronavirus Cases By Race And Ethnicity
See Also:
This article originally appeared on the Baltimore Patch
