Hogan announces universal COVID-19 testing for Md. correctional and juvenile facilities

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Governor Larry Hogan announced on Wednesday that the state will begin universal COVID-19 testing at all state-run correctional and juvenile facilities.

To expand on prioritized testing that has been done at these facilities, Hogan has directed the Maryland Department of Health to work with the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Department of Juvenile Services to conduct universal testing for their populations, including all staff.

In addition, to meet the goal of testing all nursing home residents and staff, the state will be delivering more than 20,000 tests per week to nursing homes. Distribution of tests to all 227 nursing home facilities in the state is on track to be completed by the end of next week.

The state’s Public Health Laboratory is producing up to 10,000 tubes of viral transport media on a weekly basis to overcome supply chain challenges and boost testing resources. The state will also be distributing more than 33,000 additional swabs to local jurisdictions to help boost local testing capacity.