Prince George’s County COVID-19 Update: Declaring a State of Emergency
Dear Prince Georgians:
In the past few days, we received notice of several new cases of COVID-19 in Prince George’s County, bringing our total to 14. Yesterday morning, I officially declared a state of emergency for Prince George’s County. This declaration will allow us to further access resources to assist our residents and help small businesses and all those impacted as we continue to confront this pandemic.
In addition, yesterday Governor Hogan announced several new measures to ensure residents across the State of Maryland are safe and healthy. Those new measures include:
- Closing all bars, restaurants, movie theaters, and gyms across the State.
- All gatherings of more than fifty people, including church services, are now prohibited.
- Additional State Troopers and National Guardsmen have been activated to respond to the illness.
- The Maryland Department of Health will work to open closed health facilities across the State, which will increase capacity by an additional 6000 beds.
- All utilities are prohibited from shutting off residential customers, and no tenants are to be evicted.
My Administration is committed to protecting the safety and well-being of all Prince Georgians, including our County employees. To that end, and in an effort to create social distance within the County Government, I closed all government buildings to the public on Monday, March 16, 2020.
To protect our employees and ensure continuity of government operations and services, we have begun a tiered telework strategy for County Government. Some employees approved in advance for telework began working remotely yesterday. All other employees are reporting to work for the time being, but additional workforce reduction plans will roll out over the coming days.
Government facilities that remain open are our Animal Services Facility and the Department of Social Services. County services like trash and recycling collections will continue as normally scheduled. For a complete, up-to-date list of closures and any changes to government operations, please check here.
As we see closures of schools and businesses across the State of Maryland, we recognize how these hardships could affect families across Prince George’s County. That’s why I am proud to announce a number of additional resources we have secured to support Prince Georgians who may be in need.
For those who work in the service industry, the closures of restaurants and other businesses may place financial hardships on their families. That’s why we have partnered with the Capital Area Food Bank to host three pop-up food pantries for those in need today, March 17, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. These pantries are for those who cannot afford to buy adequate food, and who would ordinarily seek help from a food pantry. They will be in Giant Food parking lots at the following locations:
- 6000 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
- 7074 Allentown Road, Camp Springs, MD 20748
- 10480 Campus Way South, Largo, MD 20774
For our public school students, many of whom are on free and reduced lunch, Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is working to ensure they still receive meals during the statewide school closures. Today, PGCPS is expanding the student meal program during the school closures. The “grab and go” meal bag will now include breakfast, lunch and a snack. In addition, the number of meal sites has been expanded from nine to 25.
Any student, with or without a parent/guardian, may go to any one of the 25 sites to pick up both meals and a snack between 10 AM and 1 PM. Adults may not pick up meals for children. There will be school system staff in the cafeteria or parking lot, depending on weather, to distribute the meals. To find a full list of student meal sites, please check here.
We are also doing everything we can to support our seniors. The State’s Department of Aging shut down all senior centers throughout the State. As a result, seniors who came to these centers for our Department of Family Services’ Senior Nutrition Program will now receive their meals via home delivery.
Meal deliveries began yesterday by our Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPW&T). Transit operators deliver a frozen pack of seven meals to seniors’ residences between 10 AM and 4 PM. Seniors, or a caregiver, must be present to receive these meals, because the driver will not leave the meals unless someone is there to bring them inside. These deliveries are only for seniors who were already part of the Senior Nutrition Program in Prince George’s County.
During this time of crisis, we must continue to work together to ensure the health of our community. More positive cases of COVID-19 will come, so we must continue to follow effective hygiene practices and social distancing to help contain the spread of this virus.
It’s on us to look out for one another, especially for our seniors, and I know Prince Georgians are always ready to answer the call of service. That’s why I am continuing to ask that all Prince Georgians take the following actions to support our seniors:
- Frequently call and check on any seniors that you know to ensure they are okay;
- Consider bringing them groceries, their medications, or any other supplies so they can reduce their time in public; and
- If you have a loved one in a care facility, monitor the situation and call in to check on them and the facility rather than visiting in-person.
As we work to keep Prince Georgians informed, I want to remind you about our Tele-Town Hall this evening at 6:30 PM to update County employees and residents on the Government’s response to COVID-19.
If you already signed up to join the telephone town hall, you will receive an automated call with further instructions before the telephone town hall begins this evening. Registration for the telephone town hall has now closed, and if you did not register, you can still listen live by tuning in to CTV Channel 76 (Verizon Fios 42).
We are asking that you continue to stay informed through a number of resources we have made available to residents. If you have questions or concerns about COVID-19, our coronavirus hotline is open from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM daily. We also have a dedicated coronavirus website with fact sheets, information and other resources: health.mypgc.us/coronavirus.
I want to thank our County employees, residents, community partners, and so many others who are coming together to lift up our community. This is an unprecedented challenge for Prince George’s County, but by working together, we will continue to do everything in our power to contain the spread of this virus.
Yours in service,
Angela Alsobrooks
Prince George’s County Executive
PGCPS Meal Sites
Pop-Up Food Pantries
Senior Nutrition Program Meal Delivery
Social Distancing Guide
 
|
