County Officials Provide Update On COVID-19 Deaths and New Cases

For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 2, 2020

Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services officials today released information on four new COVID-19 deaths and announced that multiple nursing homes have confirmed cases. Additionally, a baby boy has tested positive.

Deaths reported today by the Maryland Department of Health include two men in their 70s, one man in his 80s, and one man in his 40s. There have now been six COVID-19 deaths in Montgomery County.

"I am terribly saddened by this recent news," said County Executive Marc Elrich. "Even though I cannot reach out to each person who is affected by these events, I want to convey my heartfelt condolences. And to everyone, I want you to prepare yourselves: unfortunately, we know there will be more sad news ahead, and the most important action each and every one of us can do is to be careful and follow the guidelines – it is the best way to help. What you do really matters."

Currently, there are 10 nursing homes reporting cases of COVID-19 among staff or residents:

• Althea Woodland in Silver Spring currently has one confirmed case of a staff member with COVID-19
• The Angels Garden in Rockville currently has one confirmed case, a man in his 70s, whose death was one of four reported today
• Brighton Gardens in North Bethesda currently has one confirmed case of a staff member with COVID-19 (previously reported on March 27)
• Brooke Grove in Sandy Spring currently has one confirmed case of a resident with COVID-19
• Cadia Healthcare in Wheaton currently has one confirmed case of a resident with COVID-19
• Fairland Center in Silver Spring currently has one confirmed case of a staff member with COVID-19 (previously reported on March 27)
• Fox Chase Rehab and Nursing in Silver Spring currently has one confirmed case of a staff member with COVID-19 (previously reported on March 27)
• Hebrew Home of Greater Washington in Rockville has one resident who tested positive for COVID-19
• Maplewood Park Place in Bethesda currently has one confirmed case of a resident with COVID-19
• Layhill Center in Silver Spring currently has one resident with a confirmed case and one staff member who tested positive

These nursing homes have enhanced infection control procedures, including physical separation of residents to lower risk of exposure, has instituted no new admissions, and no group gatherings or activities. Close contacts of the individuals who tested positive have been notified, and advised to self-quarantine. Visitor restrictions have been in place for several weeks at nursing homes throughout the County.

Public health officials also announced this week that a three-month old boy tested positive for COVID-19.  The baby was diagnosed, treated, and released from a hospital outside the County. "Unfortunately, this disease has no boundaries when it comes to who it affects," said County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles. "We continue to follow up on each confirmed case of COVID-19 in the community and we are working closely with nursing homes and long-term care facilities to protect those most vulnerable in our community. We will continue to see more cases, and unfortunately we will likely see more deaths. I urge every resident of Montgomery County to take this pandemic seriously and make sure everyone is doing their part to slow the spread."

Patient privacy laws prevent health officials from sharing individual case information. That information is only available to the County's Department of Health and Human Services staff for case surveillance work. Residents will be alerted if there is an identified cluster of cases in a geographic region of the County and they will also be notified if there is possible exposure to members of the general public. As part of a positive case investigation, public health officials talk with close contacts of an infected person, then notify those at risk for exposure and provide guidance about actions they should take. 

For the latest COVID-19 updates, visit the County's COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook and Twitter.

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Release ID: 20-167
Media Contact: Julie Parker 240-777-6507