Lawmakers: FEMA Must Move More Medical Supplies to MD, VA, DC

MARYLAND — The National Capital Region surrounding Washington D.C. has been a hotbed for coronavirus activity, but lawmakers say FEMA is only giving the area a fraction of the medical supplies they requested, and desperately need, to contain the growing outbreak.

On Wednesday, a coalition of congress members from across the capital region all issued a joint letter to FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor, saying in part:

"We write to express our concern that the National Capital Region is not being prioritized appropriately for the scale of the COVID-19 impact on the region. FEMA had provided only a fraction of each jurisdiction’s request for personal protective equipment and medical supplies, leaving massive shortfalls... ...Our jurisdictions cannot wait until the surge is here if we need supplies now. We expect to become a new epicenter of infection in coming weeks despite the recently implemented “stay-at-home” orders. We ask that you place a higher attention and consideration for supplies to the National Capital Region."

The letter was signed by Senators Chris Van Hollen, Ben Cardin, Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Representatives Steny Hoyer, Anthony Brown, David Trone, Jamie Raskin, Don Beyer, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Jennifer Wexton and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.

In the letter, the group outlines a variety of concerns about supply shortages, saying Washington, D.C., has received no ventilators, safety goggles or hand sanitizers and less than one percent of the gloves and respirator mask it requested. Maryland also only received 4,000 out of 200,000 requested coronavirus nasal tests and a quarter of the face shields and respirator masks it needs. Meanwhile Virginia has received no surgical masks or face shields, and under 8 percent of the respirator masks and gloves it wanted.

The news comes right as several counties in the region have been deemed 'hot spots' for coronavirus cases. Lawmakers say, they expect the number of cases to continue to grow across the area and desperately need these supplies before that happens, and not after.

As of Thursday morning, Maryland has had 6,185 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and 138 deaths. Virginia reported 4,042 total confirmed cases and 109 deaths. Washington D.C. has had 1,523 cases of the virus and 32 deaths, and today announced that grocery store shoppers will be required to wear masks.

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One concern is the impact the outbreak is having on federal government employees, and by extension the federal government's ability to function. On March 23 the chief executives of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia issued a joint statement, saying the whole region had a responsibility to work together to protect federal workers:

"Our actions promote the health and safety of more than 360,000 federal workers who live and work across our three jurisdictions. No other region in the country bears this responsibility. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, we call on the federal government to provide additional financial support to help our jurisdictions maintain the health and safety of the region and the federal workers who serve the American people."

On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered 50 ventilators to be shipped to both Maryland and the District of Columbia, said Gov. Larry Hogan.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday that no Virginia hospitals have run out of personal protective equipment, but his discussions with hospital CEOs revealed their worries about not having enough PPE. The state is distributing supplies such as gloves, gowns, N95 masks, face shields, coveralls and hand sanitizers and is working to find more. After the state signed a $27 million contract to obtain personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, Northam expects the shipment in a matter of days.

Supplies go to hospitals, nursing homes and other medical care facilities via local health departments and health coalitions. The state has distributed 1.5 million gloves and more than 430,000 N95 masks.

Northam estimates the state received around 10 percent of supplies requested from FEMA, but he acknowledged that FEMA is directing many supplies to COVID-19 "hot spots" like New York and New Orleans. Should the Washington, DC region become a hot spot, Northam expects FEMA would redirect some supplies to the region.

Northam said the state looks at coronavirus data hourly and is preparing for different scenarios. As of Wednesday, the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicted Virginia's peak hospital resource use will happen on April 20.

The University of Virginia is preparing a Virginia-specific model to predict the COVID-19 peak. Northam expects more information on that model in the next few days.

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