Covid Latest: Hogan Says 'We Are Starting To Level Off' But Concern Remains For Hospitals
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Maryland recorded an all-time high in hospitalizations Wednesday with 3,462 patients. While some doctors believe the Northeast may be nearing the peak of the omicron wave, top federal officials warn the variant remains highly contagious.
"Most people are going to get covid, and what we need to do is make sure that the hospitals can still function," Acting FDA Administrator Dr. Janet Woodcock said this week.
Maryland reports more than 11,000 new #COVID19 cases today and 85 more people have died. Positivity rate drops slightly. 10 more hospitalized @wjz pic.twitter.com/8djCE6C9Wj
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) January 12, 2022
Governor Larry Hogan told WJZ hospitals are short one-third of their staff because of the pandemic.
"The good news is we are starting to level off. It hasn't been spiking the way it was, and we are pleased about that. But we've got a lot of people in the hospital with covid," Hogan said. "More than 3,400 people are hospitalized today in Maryland. We have a shortage of healthcare workers for a couple of reasons. One, they are just exhausted and burned out from two years of working around the clock. Number two, many of them are actually contracting covid and they're quarantining. Some people estimate we may be missing about one-third of our healthcare workers."
Governor Hogan says the good news is we may be starting to see spikes in covid cases level off—but hospitals are still very strained—and due to shortages and quarantines, Maryland may be down 1/3 of all hospital staff. @wjz pic.twitter.com/SBKygnlohl
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) January 12, 2022
The head of the Maryland Hospital Association told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren that 14 hospitals are operating under crisis standards of care and patient numbers are almost double those from one year ago.
"We thought that was just astounding and here we are approaching double that. It's a difficult, difficult situation," Association president and CEO Bob Atlas said. "The capacity is limited and yet we have this burgeoning caseload and that is squeezing out other kinds of care.
Atlas also cautioned, "If you don't have a life-threatening emergency, don't rush to a hospital. And certainly don't go to the hospital just for a routine covid test."
NEW ADDITION: Meritus Medical Center has joined the list of state COVID-19 test sites open today! Testing is free. No appointments required. Visit https://t.co/KVp6ApS45E to see a full list of sites in the state, including Annapolis and State Center. pic.twitter.com/wla4f7DVwK
— Maryland Department of Health (@MDHealthDept) January 12, 2022
WJZ has also learned the cyberattack that crippled the state's health department computers last month was ransomware: Extortionists demanded money, but Maryland did not pay. The state has not revealed if they know who was behind it or if it is connected to other cyberattacks.
State confirms it was a ransomware attack against the Maryland Department of Health. Maryland did not pay the ransom. The incident left the public in the dark about covid numbers for weeks while the state worked to protect its network and isolate against the threat. @wjz pic.twitter.com/cnlH3jPBpQ
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) January 12, 2022
The incident left the public in the dark about how fast covid was spreading, with the state failing to update case numbers, deaths and positivity rates for weeks.
"It's a serious problem. They made incredible progress—a huge team of people to address the problem—but it's not fixed. The good news is, unlike Texas and a couple of other dozen states, we haven't lost hundreds of millions of dollars. And we haven't compromised millions of people's data. But it's a big issue. It's a ransomware attack. They're targeting health departments across the country," Governor Hogan said Wednesday.