Montgomery County Ride On disinfecting buses for coronavirus

Montgomery County's Ride On bus service is trying to get in front of a potential loss of ridership due to fears over the novel coronavirus. Three MoCo residents have tested positive for covid-19 so far; officials have not yet informed the public as to whether any of the three rode public transportation before their current quarantine status. Ride On says they are disinfecting all buses nightly for coronavirus, including fareboxes, poles and even the driver's steering wheel. The transit service says they are using a "concentrated, multi-purpose, hospital grade, germicidal detergent, antiviral solution."

On Saturday, the first cases of coronavirus in the District and Virginia were reported. Maryland and Montgomery County officials have yet to offer any further information on where the three MoCo patients may have traveled while infected with coronavirus after returning from their cruise in Egypt. Of course, while it will certainly help to clean the buses in any case, there will still be the issue of riding in close quarters on buses as the outbreak spreads. Coughs and sneezes are one of the leading ways the virus is spread.

Montgomery County coronavirus patients caught virus on cruise to Egypt

One exposed others at

Rockville retirement community;

officials continue to withhold

details on patient movements

within MoCo

Maryland and Montgomery County officials continue to hide critical information about the possible spread of coronavirus in the jurisdiction from an increasingly-frustrated and worried public. Neither government will give even the general location of the supposedly-quarantined patients in the County, much less specific businesses or locations where they may have exposed others to covid-19 in recent weeks.

Gov. Larry Hogan did say that all three patients were on a cruise in Egypt, on a ship widely identified across worldwide media as the A Sara. A number of cases in Houston have been linked to the same cruise, where the ship's crew has reportedly been infected as well.

The information about other cases from the same cruise that is now surfacing is likely the only reason that detail has now been made public by the governor. Hogan also mentioned that one of the three patients exposed about 100 people at a February 28 event at the Village of Rockville retirement community. The Maryland Department of Health said the following:

"persons who attended this event should check their temperature twice a day and notify their health care provider and local health department if their temperature is greater than 100.4 or they develop a respiratory illness. They should remain at home until they receive instructions about next steps from their health care provider or local health department. Members of the public who have questions about this information are encouraged to call the Maryland Emergency Management Agency call center at 410-517-3720. The call center is available until midnight tonight and from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday."

The lack of information at the state and county level is presenting a further danger to the public. People who were in contact with the coronavirus patients may be unwittingly exposing vulnerable members of the public, such as senior citizens or those with compromised immune or respiratory systems, to the virus rather than keeping social distance if not isolating themselves. Ironically, the identities of the patients are more likely to become public thanks to the coverup, as many amateur sleuths are now attempting to track down the information officials are withholding.

Nobody cares about the specific names and addresses of the patients; they simply want to know if they've been exposed, or what places they should avoid for the time being. Instead of protecting privacy, the unusual secrecy is only generating more wild speculation online.

Misinformation is dangerous in a potential pandemic. Those who are setting themselves up as trusted sources of reliable information undercut that position when they make false statements for political, rather than medical, reasons.

Federal experts telling people to stop buying masks because they "won't reduce your chances of catching the virus" immediately lost all credibility. Not only do properly-worn masks reduce your chance of catching coronavirus, but if they didn't, why would we need to save them for healthcare providers? Clearly, they help those healthcare providers avoid catching and spreading coronavirus, flu and other diseases. Don't blame the public trying to protect themselves and their families for government's failure to prepare for a pandemic.

Photo via U.S. Food & Drug Administration

Coronavirus cases in Montgomery County confirmed, MCPS preparing for potential school closures if needed

Hogan declares state of emergency

after 3 MoCo residents test

positive for COVID-19

Three people in Montgomery County have tested positive for coronavirus, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Thursday evening. Officials will not reveal the specific parts of Montgomery County where the three individuals live, where they traveled overseas, or what public places they have visited since returning from their travels. Hogan described them only as a married couple in their seventies, and an individual in his or her fifties.

At a press conference, Hogan said he had informed Vice-President Mike Pence of the three Maryland COVID-19 cases. Pence is leading the Trump administration's federal coronavirus response effort. Hogan also alerted Montgomery County officials, including Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Smith. The state's Emergency Operations Center has been activated, Hogan said.

Shortly afterward, MCPS released its own statement, which emphasized in boldface that schools will not be closed for coronavirus Friday. The statement said that there is no evidence the three patients, who Hogan said are under quarantine, were in contact with MCPS students since returning from their overseas travel. However, MCPS did say they are preparing for the real possibility that schools will have to close for an undetermined period if the pandemic continues to worsen.

"This is exactly what our state has been actively and aggressively been preparing for," Hogan said. He said this will allow the state's emergency offices to increase cooperation and coordination with federal and local officials. "We encourage all Marylanders not to panic," the Maryland Emergency Management Agency tweeted. MEMA conducted a coronavirus preparedness conference call with emergency managers from local jurisdictions around the state Thursday.

County Executive Marc Elrich is scheduled to give an update on the coronavirus cases at 10:00 AM this morning. Hogan will hold his own press conference at the same time. How much more detail either will give regarding the current cases is unclear. There are increasing calls from the public to know which public establishments, and parts of the county, the three infected people may have spread the virus in over the many days between their return from overseas and yesterday's positive test results. No one expects the names and addresses of the individuals to be released, of course, but simply to know whether they may have been exposed to the virus.

Meanwhile, the EPA released an official list of disinfectants that kill coronavirus, or prevent its spread. Panic buying of such products, along with bottled water, paper goods and other necessities, continues. Can't find hand wipes or hand sanitizer at your nearby stores? Here is a recipe for how to make hand sanitizer disinfectant at home, using vodka or rubbing alcohol (although the latter is also hard to find in many stores, as well).

Germantown's Neuraly begins Phase 2 clinical trial for NLY01 for Parkinson's

Germantown biotech firm Neuraly is a step closer to achieving a potential breakthrough treatment for Parkinson's disease. The first patient has just been dosed in the Phase 2 clinical trial of their NLY01 product, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist.

Testing so far has shown that NLY01 was effective in preventing neuronal cell death, as well as preventing the decline of motor skills frequently found in Parkinson's patients. Neuraly is located on Goldenrod Lane, in the Germantown Innovation Center.

Qiagen acquired by Thermo Fisher

Qiagen, a Dutch molecular diagnostic and sample prep firm with facilities in Germantown, has been acquired by diagnostics firm Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. The acquisition price was €39 per share in cash.

"This strategic step with Thermo Fisher will enable us to enter a promising new era and will give our employees the opportunity to have an even greater impact," Qiagen interim CEO Thierry Bernard said yesterday from Qiagen's world headquarters in Venlo, The Netherlands. Qiagen's beautiful, forest-lined campus is on the wonderfully-named Qiagen Strasse in Germantown.

Strong-arm rape in Gaithersburg

A strong-arm rape was reported to the Montgomery County police from a residence in Gaithersburg. Police were called to a home in the 500 block of W. Diamond Avenue at 3:00 AM Monday, according to crime data, for a victim report of a forcible, strong-arm rape.

Gaithersburg to purchase 9 new Ford Police Interceptors

Gaithersburg is seeking to replace seven aging vehicles in the Gaithersburg police fleet. City staff has prepared a procurement contract for nine new 2020 Ford Police Inteceptor AWD sport utility vehicles. Seven will be marked, and the remaining two will be unmarked undercover vehicles. Four of the nine will be hybrids.

The proposed supplier is Hertrich Fleet Services of Denton, Maryland. If approved by the Mayor & Council at tonight's public meeting at City Hall, the purchase will cost at maximum $310,274. Staff reports that the current police cruisers being replaced will be auctioned off by the city when the replacements are put into service.

Ford touts its hybrid Interceptor as "the first-ever pursuit-rated hybrid police SUV." The 2020 model is the only vehicle worldwide that is engineered to pass a 75 MPH rear crash test, the automaker says.

Photo courtesy Ford Motor Company