COVID & The Biden Transition: Not The Usual Baton Pass

Yesterday, at a news conference at the State House in Annapolis, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan gave a somber summary of the scope of the COVID 19 pandemic in the state. Some hospitals in Western Maryland are at or near capacity. For three of the past five days, the state has reported more than 2,000 new cases, as the country sees new infections surpass 140,000 every day.Hogan announced that effective Friday, all bars and food establishments in the state will be required to close at 10:00 PM. This decision is based on the fact that compliance with coronavirus protocols tends to diminish substantially after 10. The Governor stressed, with no effort to hide his anger, that compliance must improve, and that local jurisdictions must do more to enforce the orders to wear masks and physically distance. Hogan said that retail businesses, fitness centers, religious institutions and other establishments will revert back to Phase 2 capacity restrictions.Mr. Hogan announced that tomorrow, he will take part in a Governor’s Call with President-elect Joe Biden and his transition team...Also yesterday, amid encouraging news about not one but two promising COVID-19 vaccines, President-elect Biden again called on the Trump Administration to ascertain the election, and to begin sharing information about distribution of vaccines when they are ready.Joining Tom is Asma Khalid, a political correspondent for NPR and a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. She’s covered the Biden campaign; she’s now covering the transition. Asma joins us on the line from Washington, DC.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.