Coronavirus Latest: Baltimore Mayor Reports 5 COVID-19 Cases
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore Mayor Jack Young said the city has reported its fifth positive coronavirus case as of Wednesday.
The city's health commissioner Letitia Dzirasa said the cases are via community transmission.
The mayor issued a state of emergency to help speed up the response and coordination between city agencies.
"At this time it's critical we all follow best practices to limit exposure to ourselves and our fellow residents," Young said, reminding people to practice social distancing and wash their hands regularly.
He asked residents to stay home as much as possible, but to check on elderly residents.
Young also said he lifted a number of parking restrictions to help support residents working from home.
Also Wednesday, LifeBridge Health reported a provider at Northwest Hospital and a patient at Sinai Hospital tested positive for COVID-19. The provider is being quarantined at home, while the patient is doing well and could be released from the hospital soon, officials said.
It's unclear if those two cases are included in the numbers Young released earlier in the day.
The mayor also addressed the recent violence in the city and called it "unacceptable." He said hospital beds are needed to treat COVID-19 patients. He urged people to put down the guns.
"For those of you who want to continue to shoot and kill people of this city, we're not going to tolerate it," Young implored. "We're going to come after you and we're going to get you."
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The health commissioner said there are a limited number of tests in the city and only those who are showing symptoms will be tested.
City first responders are taking precautions when it comes to responding to transport or treat patients that possibly have coronavirus. They also asked that residents only call 911 in true emergencies.
The fire department has been in contact with other cities like Seattle, to learn more about how they responded and lessons learned.
The emergency operations center are trying to make sure first responders have the equipment they need.
City officials are also aggressively scaling up food distribution.
"No child in Baltimore will go hungry in the days and weeks ahead," an official said.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
