D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that drive-thru and walk-up testing sites for COVID-19 will be available for first responders and corrections officers in the District by the end of the week.
“Our message remains the same: Stay home,” Ms. Bowser said at a press conference. “As I have said before, the only reasons you should be leaving your home is to buy groceries, pick up medicine, or to exercise with your own family, or if you have been advised to seek medical attention, or because you are performing an essential job.”
Ms. Bowser said that after her press conference she would conduct a conference call with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to discuss the stay-at-home order Mr. Hogan issued Monday for residents in his state, saying she will decide whether to do the same in the District.
As of Monday afternoon, the region has recorded 49 deaths and more than 2,600 coronavirus cases, with 401 in the District, 1,020 in Virginia and 1,413 in Maryland.
The District has 106 cases and Maryland 43 cases that are in recovery; the Virginia Department of Health did not “have that information to share at this time.”
Over the weekend in the District, five individuals died of the novel coronavirus, three of whom did not receive testing and died outside of a hospital setting, according to officials in the mayor’s office.
“Residents should not decide for themselves whether they need to get tested,” Ms. Bowser said, urging residents to talk to a health care provider if they are not feeling well.
For anyone who doesn’t have a doctor or insurance, Mary’s Center has a hotline (844-796-2797) in Spanish and English for people who are experiencing coronavirus symptoms — fever, dry cough or shortness of breath.
Ms. Bowser said that since the death of one of her staff members of COVID-19, five other staffers in the mayor’s office are self-quarantining; none of them is a department head.
As of Sunday, 14 members of D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services have tested positive for COVID-19 and 177 individuals are in quarantine, and five Metropolitan Police Department personnel have tested positive and 161 individuals are in quarantine.
In the Department of Corrections (DOC), one person has tested positive and 71 individuals are in quarantine. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kevin Donahue said some of the individuals are quarantined as a result of their interactions at work and some are not.
Four inmates at the D.C. Jail have tested positive for COVID-19, and 81 individuals are in quarantine.
Mr. Donahue said the jail, on average, is admitting fewer than 20 people per day, compared to before the pandemic, when it admitted between 80 and 100 people per day.
The DOC is implementing social distancing and preventing gatherings of 10 or more people by staggering when inmates participate in various programs, Mr. Donahue said.
Chris Rodriguez, director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said that since several residents are working from home, the city won’t be ticketing people for parking in street sweeping or rush hour zones. Vehicle booting and towing is suspended, as well.
However, motorist can still be ticketed for parking in food pick-up and drop-off zones outside of restaurants, which are designated with emergency “no parking” signs.
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