New hospital-based testing sites to open on Md. Eastern Shore
EASTON, Md. – Two hospitals on the Eastern Shore will soon open as COVID-19 testing sites.
UM Shore Regional Health in Talbot County and TidalHealth in Wicomico County are expected to open as hospital-based testing sites by the end of next week. These sites will be open daily with no appointment necessary.
Governor Hogan also announced on Thursday that in an effort to combat the current surge of COVID-19, all staff, volunteers, and vendors who are in a nursing home facility regularly will be required to be tested twice per week whenever community transmission is high, regardless of vaccination status. In addition, all visitors to nursing homes will be required to provide proof of a negative test or be tested at the facility with a rapid test prior to entering. This order will go into effect on January 21st, and the state will work closely with nursing homes to make all necessary testing resources available to them free of charge.
As the Omicron variant continues to be the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Maryland, the Governor urged Marylanders to get vaccinated and boosted and wear masks when necessary. Hogan says the state continues to be one of the leading states in the nation for vaccination rates. Hogan noted that Maryland ranks 5th in the nation in terms of mask use without a statewide mask mandate and says there’s no need to change that strategy.
The Maryland Department of Health will begin distributing 20 million N95 and KN95 masks to Marylanders through multiple channels, including local health departments, all state-run testing and vaccination sites, the Vaccine Equity Task Force, nursing homes, and Maryland state agencies.
