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Marylanders’ Attitudes About Government’s COVID Response Vary By Demographic

October 14, 2020 by Maryland Matters

Nearly half of all Marylanders have experienced financial hardship since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and people remain concerned that they or a loved one will get sick, according to a just-released survey.

Skepticism about a potential vaccine is high across the state, regardless of ideology.

Republicans are much more skeptical about the benefits of mask-wearing and social distancing than Democrats.

And Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) continues to get very high marks for his handling of the crisis — particularly from residents of the Washington, D.C. suburbs, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by wide margins.

The wide-ranging poll’s cross-tabs, which look at gender, ideology, race, geography and other characteristics, reveal fairly broad demographic differences.

The Goucher College poll of 1,002 Maryland residents was taken between Sept. 30 and Oct. 4 by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. It had a 3.1-point margin of error.

The main takeaways:

A strong majority (58%) of residents said Maryland’s approach to reopening the economy has been “about right.” Nearly a quarter (23%) believed the state moved “too quickly;” 16% said reopenings came “too slowly.”

Half of survey respondents (51%) said they believe the worst of the pandemic “is behind us,” a view that runs counter to the warnings being expressed by public health experts. Forty percent of Marylanders believe the worst “is yet to come.”

Just under half (45%) of residents have experienced “severe” or “moderate” financial hardship since the virus hit the state in March; 55% said they had endured no money woes.

Nearly seven in 10 Marylanders said they have some or a great deal of concern that they or a loved one will become infected, while 31% who have little or no concern.

By an overwhelming margin, residents remain happy with Hogan’s coronavirus leadership. The former head of the National Governors Association moved aggressively to close schools, limit business activity and ramp up the public health response when the virus first hit.

By a better than 5-to-1 margin, Marylanders give the second-term executive, who has started to position himself for a potential White House bid in 2024, a thumbs-up for his decision-making and rhetoric.

The poll’s cross-tabs reveal a lot about the ways race, age, political ideology and geography shape Marylanders’ attitudes toward the epidemic and public health.

Exposure concern, masks and the future of COVID-19

Republicans are much less concerned about COVID-19 infection hitting their family. Overall concern about an infection is high (69-31). Among Democrats it’s even higher (82-18). But only 47% of Republicans say they’re worried about exposure.

Party affiliation also affects residents’ views of public-health precautions.

By an 11-1 margin, residents believe that wearing masks and social distancing “can help stop the spread” of the virus. Support is highest among Democrats (98-2) and women (94-5). It is lower among Republicans (77-19) and men (84-13).

Echoing the concerns raised by scientists and public health leaders, Democrats (52-38), Blacks (54-40) and women (46-45) believe the pandemic will get worse. Conversely, Republicans (74-18), whites (56-33) and men (57-33) believe “the worst is behind us.”

Although a majority of residents of all stripes think the pace of the state’s reopening has been “about right,” women, Democrats and younger adults were more likely to say that the state has moved “too quickly.”

“Women are displaying more caution than their male counterparts,” said political science professor Mileah Kromer, the director of the survey, in an interview. “It seems to be on the basis of caution. It’s slight, but it’s present.”

Financial hardship

The COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the state’s economy, and while some rehiring has occurred, the impacts on families have been widespread. Jobs have been lost and tens of thousands of people have been forced to dig into their savings and rely on help from friends, family and food banks to meet basic needs.

Younger adults (56-44), Blacks (53-47), people of “other races” (54-46) and people who didn’t go to college (52-48) reported moderate or severe financial hardship due to the economic slowdown.

People aged 35 and up, college graduates and whites — those more likely to be able to work from home or are retired — were more likely to say they had not endured any financial woes due to the coronavirus.

In an analysis for Maryland Matters, Goucher revealed that residents of the Baltimore region were more likely to have experienced financial distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Residents of Baltimore City and Baltimore County (56-44) said they have had money woes. People who live in the Washington, D.C., suburbs (43-57) were less likely to have struggled financially. The same was true for the residents of Central Maryland, the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland (41-59).

Hogan

Hogan turned over the reins of state government to Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford (R) in March, so that he could focus on the pandemic full time.

Like his overall job-approval numbers, Hogan’s handling of the virus (82-16) would be the envy of any leader.

His support is highest, remarkably, in two counties dominated by Democrats, Prince George’s (91-9) and Montgomery (85-12).

Democrats (86-13) like his COVID game plan even more than Republicans (75-23). And his support among Blacks for the way he has handled the public health crisis (85-14) edges out his white backing (81-17).

Kromer thinks the stark contrast between Hogan and President Trump works in the governor’s favor in the D.C. suburbs.

“I have to wonder if there is something there, given how prominent the federal government is in the D.C. suburbs,” she said. “They are in a hot spot and they’ve been in a hot spot for a while.”

Hogan is part of a group of Northeast governors whose early, aggressive actions have won them applause. Many Southern and Midwestern governors who were outspoken about the need to reopen have seen their poll numbers tank.

Vaccines

President Trump, who has made more than 20,000 false statements since taking office, according to a Washington Post count, has repeatedly promised that a vaccine will be available this year, a statement contradicted by his own to advisers.

The Goucher poll found that Marylanders are skeptical about vaccines.

Asked whether they would take an “FDA-approved” vaccine, 49% said no, while 48% said yes.

Younger adults (56-41) and whites (54-43) were more willing to do so. Adults between 35 and 54 (38-59) and Blacks (38-61) said they would decline.

By Bruce DePuyt

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

As Md. Reopens, ‘Hardest Decisions are Coming,’ Health Expert Warns

June 4, 2020 by Maryland Matters

A top health expert praised Maryland’s cautious approach to reopening its economy following the COVID-19 outbreak, but he said Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) and his team face much tougher decisions in the weeks ahead.

The state faces particularly wrenching tradeoffs regarding how to reopen schools, he said.

Adding to the decision-making challenge are multiple unknowns, including whether the recent increase in travel and activity will produce a spike in infections, and whether people who participate in large demonstrations are at greater risk of coronavirus exposure.

Maryland has fully entered Phase 1 of its reopening — allowing limited retail, outdoor dining and selected sporting and leisure activities — and will soon move into Phase 2, Hogan announced at a news conference late Wednesday afternoon.

Dr. Thomas V. Inglesby/Johns Hopkins photo

But the state faces tougher questions about the next phases of what the governor has dubbed the “Roadmap to Recovery,” said Thomas V. Inglesby, director of the Center for Healthy Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a top Hogan health adviser.

Among the tough calls that lie ahead, he said: how and when to resume indoor dining, reopen theaters and other entertainment venues, allow larger gatherings, and permit K-12 and university students to return to the classroom.

“All those activities will have more risks than the things that we have so far,” Inglesby told the legislature’s COVID-19 Workgroup. “Some of the hardest decisions are coming, and I don’t think there are clear answers to those yet.”

Inglesby said the lessons learned in the hard-hit New York City area, Europe, Asia and elsewhere can help guide the state’s decision-making process.

While the incubation period for the virus is believed to be around 14 days, he told lawmakers the state won’t know for close to a month whether Phase 1 activities produce a spike in COVID-19 infection.

“To see big changes probably would take more like four-to-six weeks,” Inglesby said. “It takes time for people to develop the disease, they have an incubation period, [and] it may take them days, at least days, to be sick enough to be hospitalized.”

If people get sick in such numbers that it strains the health care system, Inglesby warned, the governor will be forced to act.

“We do need to be prepared to pause on the reopening process if things move in the wrong direction. If the hospital indicators in particular move dangerously in the wrong direction, it might be that we need even to reverse some of the decisions, if that is the only available tool that we have.”

The same concern holds true for the racial justice demonstrations that are taking place across the state. “There definitely will be a risk posed by large gatherings of people,” Inglesby said.

Most outbreaks around the globe have followed indoor events, like the religious gathering in Malaysia that brought 16,000 people to a mosque in February.

He advised wearing masks, maintaining distance from others, and to use noisemakers or drums (rather than shouting) when participating “in these important events.”

“I do think we should be prepared for the possibility of a rise in cases in the next two-to-four-to-six weeks,” Inglesby told the panel.

To continue moving forward with reopening, Maryland must sustain its testing efforts and its contact tracing program, so that infected — and potentially infected — persons can be identified, isolated and quarantined.

“This process is also called ‘case-based management’ and it is the process that has led to success in places in the world where things have been better,” he said.

Bringing children back to the classroom

Inglesby said there “there is still a big debate in the public health community” about how to reopen schools.

“Everyone agrees that it’s been terrible for children to be out of school for so many reasons — educational, support, safety. On the other hand, we haven’t had a lot of experience [in other places] with schools being open since this started.”

Given the pattern of COVID-19 exposure — with adults being more at risk than children — the biggest concern surrounds teachers, administrators, parents and grandparents who live in multi-generational households.

“Those questions haven’t really been answered by research yet,” he said.

Just this week, schools in Israel were forced to close following an outbreak.

“We’re going to have to find a way to tolerate some level of risk and balance all the good from schools with some level of risk for spread,” Inglesby said.

He said university decision-makers face the “additional problem of congregant living” — dorms, bathrooms and dining halls.

Tense questioning over test kits

The legislature’s COVID-19 Workgroup received a lengthy update on the state’s response to the pandemic from Hogan’s top health advisers, including Health Secretary Robert R. Neall, Health Department CEO Dennis R. Schrader and Deputy Secretary Fran B. Phillips.

Because of their lingering suspicions surrounding the 500,000 test kits that Maryland procured from South Korea, a purchase many lawmakers believe was over-hyped by Hogan, lawmakers pressed the trio about their use — and whether the kits are missing key components.

Most of the questioning was done by Sen. Clarence K. Lam (D-Howard), a physician.

“Something doesn’t compute,” Lam said at one point. “You have, you say, all the pieces, but we’re not testing to the degree that we really ought to.”

“If we have 500,000 tests that are in hand here in the state, and we have identified a priority for strike teams to go into nursing homes, why is it taking two months for the specimen collection kits to get out there and make it back?” he asked.

Phillips defended the state’s testing program.

“There is no shortage of test kits to distribute to the nursing homes,” she said.

“We’re not missing any component that’s necessary to operate these tests,” Phillips replied during another flurry of questions.

The briefing, scheduled to last 35 minutes, ran an hour and a half. If lawmakers were satisfied with their responses, they didn’t say so.

Phillips said the state is now benefiting from a new “signature lab” at the University of Maryland Baltimore that will continue to boost testing capacity — and that any resident who wants a screening can get one.

“We’re using [the South Korean tests] judiciously as part of a long-term strategy,” Phillips added. “Meanwhile we are maximizing our available contracts right now, for these out-of-state labs. For as long as they’re good, we’re going to use them.”

She said the state is “in a bit of a lull” when it comes to confirmed coronavirus cases but warned there could be “a very rocky period” in the fall. Schrader cautioned that “there could be second, third and fourth waves” of coronavirus infection come autumn.

Because “there is not a vaccine on the horizon any time soon,” Phillips added, residents should expect that “this deadly and highly-transmissible virus will be with us for months and months to come.”

Last week, at another briefing, state procurement officials defended the decision to purchase masks and PPE from a

newly-formed Delaware firm — a company started by two Republican political operatives just days before winning a $12.5 million contract with Maryland.

The company, Blue Flame Medical, is now in a legal tussle with the state regarding the delivery of items Maryland ordered. The firm was referred to the Department of General Services, the state’s lead procurement agency, by an unidentified member of the governor’s staff.

Although the head of DGS repeatedly urged lawmakers to direct questions about the Blue Flame deal to the Department of Health, they posed no questions about the contract during the 95-minute briefing Wednesday.

By Bruce DePuyt

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Hogan Outlines Phase 2 Reopening, Which Will Start Friday

June 4, 2020 by Maryland Matters

With a new University of Maryland Baltimore lab set to greatly expand the state’s COVID-19 testing capabilities, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced Wednesday that many business establishments can reopen beginning Friday evening.

Phase 2 of the state’s economic recovery “roadmap,” which takes effect at 5 p.m. on June 5, permits manufacturing, construction, retail establishments, “specialty vendors,” wholesalers and warehouses to allow employees to resume operations as long as they undertake efforts to reduce social interaction and keep work environments clean.

A variety of offices — including information technology companies, law offices, accounting firms, banking and financial institutions, insurance agencies, design studios, advertising and architectural firms, and media production companies — can also reopen their doors.

Also getting the green light to reopen:

real estate offices
travel agencies
auto dealer showrooms
bank branches

Nail salons, massage therapists, tanning salons and tattoo parlors may resume operations at up to 50% capacity and on an appointment-only basis — and with appropriate health guidelines.

The state Motor Vehicle Administration will open select branches on an appointment-only basis.

The governor said the move to Phase 2 was made possible by an increase in testing capability, a drop in the state’s coronavirus “positivity” numbers and a gradual but steady decline in hospitalization rates.

By week’s end, the state will have conducted more than 400,000 tests, Hogan said. In a dig at the White House, the governor said the federal government failed to make federal labs available to the state, despite a pledge from the president.

“Although the White House publicly offered the use of federal labs, after several months of effort, the reality is that we still have not been able to access any of them,” he said.

Hogan announced that the Institute of Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine has converted a research lab into a “full-scale clinical testing” operation that “will be the backbone of our sustained, long-term testing strategy.”

The governor said companies that reopen their doors must adhere to local, state and CDC guidelines for reducing the spread of COVID-19 to workers or customers.

That means face coverings should be worn during face-to-face interactions, temperature checks, rotating or altering employee shifts, and shortening the workweek where possible.

Companies that can utilize telework should continue to do so, Hogan said.

As with the state’s move into Phase 1, Hogan’s order gives counties the option of moving in tandem with the state or advancing at a later date.

Local leaders didn’t know of Hogan’s plans until he announced them at a 4 p.m. State House news conference on Wednesday.

Several of Maryland’s larger counties made the move to Phase 1 later than those in less-populated jurisdictions and were reviewing the governor’s decision late Wednesday.

Sean Naron, a spokesman for Baltimore County Executive John A. Olszewski Jr. (R), said the county “will be evaluating the announcement made today, consulting with experts, and identifying next steps in the near future.”

In Howard County, Executive Calvin S. Ball (D) said his jurisdiction would adopt Phase 2 on Friday.

“We continue to see progress on the building blocks needed to reopen safely and effectively,” he said in a statement. “We expect our case numbers to increase as we test more of our population and we will be keeping a close eye on our hospitalization, ICU and ventilator rates over the coming weeks.”

Within moments of Hogan’s announcement, Harford County Executive Barry Glassman (R) said his county would take full advantage of Phase 2.

Hogan’s order leaves bars and restaurants closed, except for outdoor dining and carryout. Churches may only operate at reduced capacity. Gyms, casinos and indoor movie theaters remain closed.

Transit schedules “will begin to return to a more normal schedule” under Phase 2 and the state Department of Education will continue with its gradual plan to reopen child care centers.

By Bruce DePuyt

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

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