The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland.
Timeline 2020 January In late January 2020, Maryland hospitals began travel screening for coronavirus when taking in new patients entering the emergency room. State health officials announced on January 30, 2020, that the first person tested in Maryland for the novel coronavirus did not have the virus. Fran Phillips, deputy state health secretary for public health services, stated that the risk for Maryland residents of contracting the virus remained low. Maryland medical facilities, educational institutions, and businesses disseminated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Towson University stated that a professor would not return to classes while a family member was tested.
The University of Maryland, College Park and Towson University suspended their study abroad programs in Italy after increases in CDC alert levels. Towson suspended upcoming travel to Japan but did not suspend its current programs.
February As of February 29, five people in Maryland had been tested for coronavirus, with the first two testing negative.
March March 1–5
On March 5, Governor Larry Hogan confirmed the first three cases of coronavirus in Montgomery County: one married couple in their 70s and an unrelated woman in her 50s. All three patients were on the same river cruise on the Nile River in Egypt. Upon their return, one of the patients traveled to suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, meeting with students. This prompted the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Central Bucks School District to temporarily close three schools in that district to undergo cleaning. Another patient visited The Village at Rockville retirement community for an event that had between 70 and 100 people. Attendees of the event were told to monitor their temperature and call their physician or the Maryland Emergency Management Agency if they began to exhibit symptoms. All three patients had fully recovered by March 12. Hogan declared a state of emergency after announcing the state's first positive tests.
Salisbury University suspended their study abroad programs in Italy and South Korea on March 5.
March 6–11 On March 8, Governor Hogan confirmed 2 new cases of coronavirus: 1 in Montgomery County, and 1 in Harford County.
The University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Towson University; University of Maryland Eastern Shore; and Salisbury University all closed campuses early and moved to online classes after Spring Break.
March 12 By March 12, twelve cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in Maryland — two remained hospitalized and three had recovered. Importantly, Maryland confirmed the state's first known case of community transmission in a Prince George's County resident with no known exposure to coronavirus through travel or an infected individual. The first case of community transmission indicates that "we are entering a new phase of working to mitigate and limit the spread of this pandemic," reported Governor Hogan.
On March 12, Karen Salmon, Maryland's Superintendent of Schools, announced that all public schools would be closed for two weeks beginning March 16. Hogan raised the state's emergency activation system to activate the Maryland National Guard and banned gatherings of more than 250 people. Hogan suspended visits to state prisons and stipulated hospitals to implement policies to limit visitors. Employees of the Government of Maryland were ordered to remote work if they were able to do so. The National Guard was activated to a higher state of readiness. Hogan delegated routine state government operations to Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford so he could allocate more time to combating the virus.
On March 12, the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament for basketball scheduled to be held at Frostburg State University was canceled. Archbishop Wilton Daniel Gregory of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington announced that all archdiocesan parishes, missions, and campus ministries would be suspending public masses beginning Saturday, March 14. Weddings and funeral services for immediate family were permitted. Gregory also closed all Catholic schools in Washington, D.C., and Maryland suburbs. Similarly, Archbishop William E. Lori of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore announced that all Catholic schools in the archdiocese would close from March 16 through March 27, following the declaration of temporary public school closure from Governor Larry Hogan. In addition, the Archbishop announced that all Masses and church gatherings had to be limited to 250 people, also following the governor's orders.
March 13
On March 13, a spokesperson for Hogan reported there were six new cases overnight, bringing the total number of positive cases in Maryland to 18. This included the first confirmed case in Carroll County, Maryland. Later that evening, Prince George's County executive Angela Alsobrooks announced a man tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to 19 in Maryland and 7 in Prince George's County.
Bishop W. Francis Malooly of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, which oversees the Catholic Church for Eastern Shore counties, announced that he had "dispensed the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Wilmington from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass". He also canceled all Public Masses, Catholic schools and religious education programs for two weeks beginning March 15.
March 14 Early on March 14, an official from the MDH announced that 7 more people tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to 26. It was also announced that 3 recoveries had been made, all of which were the original 3 cases in Maryland identified in Montgomery County. Later in the day, Harford County officials reported the second case of coronavirus in the county: a 69 year old family member of Harford County's first case. Also on March 14, Baltimore City Mayor Jack Young announced that a man in his 60s became the first coronavirus case in the city.
To help practice social distancing, five of six Maryland casinos, announced they would limit the number of persons in their facilities by half. The casinos also announced that chairs would be removed from slot machine areas and at tables, as well as restrictions on food and drink. The only casino that would not agree to the conditions set was the MGM National Harbor.
Archbishop William E. Lori of the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced that all public masses would be canceled following guidance from state leaders and other health officials.
March 15 Early on March 15, the MDH and Governor Larry Hogan's spokesperson Mike Ricci announced that 5 more people tested positive, bringing the new total to 31 for the state. In addition, the locations of the 7 people who tested positive on March 14 were announced. NIH reports the first known employee with COVID-19 infection.
Governor Hogan ordered all of the state's casinos, racetracks, and off-track betting to cease operations on March 15, with the shutdown beginning on March 16 at 12:01am. In addition, Governor Hogan also warned in a statement that bars and restaurants are to follow the ban of gatherings of over 250 people in advance of St. Patrick's Day celebrations. He stated that if any bar or restaurant failed to comply with the restrictions set, they would be charged with a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of one year in jail and/or up to $5,000 in fines.
In the afternoon, the Howard County Health Department announced the county's first confirmed coronavirus case: an 82-year-old woman with an underlying condition who resided at the Lorien Elkridge, a nursing home in Elkridge. The MDH initiated the process of contacting and notifying all staff, residents, and family members about the possible exposure to COVID-19 in the nursing home. Six medics were exposed to the woman not knowing that she was a COVID-19 patient; all six medics went into self-quarantine, according to the Howard County fire chief. This case brings the total number of positive cases to 32 for the state. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball declared a state of emergency in Howard County following the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the county. Using executive power, he ordered the closure of all movie theaters in the county, as well as The Mall in Columbia and the shops at Savage Mill for one week. Restaurants with outside external entrances at the Mall in Columbia are exempt from the order.
The Baltimore County Public Library announced that beginning at the close of business, all branch libraries would be closed through March 29.
March 16 On March 16, the MDH announced six more positive cases, including the first Howard County case announced by local officials the previous day. Those cases brought the cumulative number of positive cases in the state to 37, to include the first on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, located in Talbot County.
Governor Hogan held a press conference in the late morning, where he announced an executive order that would require all bars, restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters in the state to close at 5:00 Restaurants with delivery, drive-thru, and carry out services are exempt from closing completely.
During the afternoon, the Howard County government announced 3 new coronavirus cases: a man on dialysis in his 40s, a man in his 50s and a woman in her 70s. Also that afternoon, Baltimore Mayor Jack Young announced the city's second coronavirus case: a woman in her 20s. These 4 new cases brought the cumulative number of coronavirus cases in Maryland to 41.
Due to "sharply reduced" ridership, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) announced that all three MARC commuter rail lines would operate on a modified version of the "R" schedule, causing fewer trains to run throughout the day, beginning on March 17. On the Penn Line, four additional trains not listed on the "R" schedule operate (403, 502, 453, and 452), as does the Brunswick Line (872, 875, and 877), with only the Camden Line operating "R" schedule services as published. At that time, the MTA did not announce how long the "R" schedule would be in effect for.
Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver issued a Declaration of Emergency, which was ordered to take effect beginning on March 23 at 8:00am local time.
March 17
On the morning of March 17, the MDH confirmed 20 additional positive cases in the state, including the first case in Frederick County. Only two of the three cases announced by Howard County on March 16 were added to the MDH's total figure for the day. The additional case announced by Baltimore Mayor Jack Young was also not included in the totals. The official figure from the MDH was now 57.
Carroll County's Health Department announced its second case of coronavirus mid-day. They confirmed that the patient was a woman in her 30s who is related to the county's first case. The two patients in Carroll County traveled outside of the United States, where they contracted the virus.
Governor Hogan announced an executive order that postponed the Maryland primary elections.
The afternoon of March 17, Governor Hogan announced that the Preakness Stakes, which take place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, would be postponed until September 2020. This follows the postponing of the Kentucky Derby, which will now be held on September 5.