Governor Larry Hogan, chairman of the National Governors Association, wrote to President Trump Tuesday afternoon to accept his offer to allow the State of Maryland to utilize federal labs for COVID-19 testing and to request guidance on how to move forward with this important federal-state collaboration.
“Maryland is fortunate to have a plethora of federal installations with the potential to play a critical role in increasing our testing capacity, including Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Detrick, Fort Meade, the National Institutes of Health, and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,” writes Governor Hogan. “These federal labs can be key to our utilizing the 500,000 tests we recently acquired from South Korea and our comprehensive recovery plan to get Marylanders back to work as safely and quickly as possible.”
On Monday, after weeks of diplomatic discussions and procurement negotiations, Governor Hogan announced that Maryland has acquired 500,000 COVID-19 tests from South Korea’s LabGenomics.
“These federal labs can be key to our utilizing the 500,000 tests we recently acquired from South Korea and our comprehensive recovery plan to get Marylanders back to work as safely and quickly as possible,” writes Governor Hogan. “I was grateful to hear of your generous offer to allow the State of Maryland to access these federal labs for our testing. I am writing today to personally thank you and the Vice President and to request guidance on how we can immediately proceed on this important federal-state collaboration.”
In the letter, Governor Hogan notes that on March 15, the leaders of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC wrote directly to the president to request a federally-supported testing site in the region.
As of Tuesday, April 21, 2020, Maryland has 14,193 cases of COVID-19 and 584 confirmed deaths.
Read Governor Hogan’s letter to President Trump.
April 21, 2020
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Trump:
As chair of the National Governors Association, I want to thank you for the continued coordination between the federal, state, and local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are making clear progress on many of the common challenges we face. I appreciate your administration’s focus on information sharing, highlighting best practices, and empowering governors to assess conditions on the ground and make the decisions that best fit our states.
On March 15th, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Boswer, and I wrote to you directly requesting “that you add the National Capital Region to the priority locations for federally-supported COVID-19 testing sites,” noting that we “are well-positioned to make the best possible use of federal support for this testing.”
As Vice President Pence detailed on the governors’ call yesterday, Maryland is fortunate to have a plethora of federal installations with the potential to play a critical role in increasing our testing capacity, including Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Detrick, Fort Meade, the National Institutes of Health, and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. These federal labs can be key to our utilizing the 500,000 tests we recently acquired from South Korea and our comprehensive recovery plan to get Marylanders back to work as safely and quickly as possible.
I was grateful to hear of your generous offer yesterday to allow the State of Maryland to access these federal labs for our testing. I am writing today to personally thank you and the Vice President and to request guidance on how we can immediately proceed on this important federal-state collaboration. I look forward to continuing to work with you and your great team. Thank you once again.
Sincerely,
Larry Hogan
Governor
cc: The Honorable Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States
The Honorable Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Dr. Deborah Birx, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Dr. Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of Food & Drugs
Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Admiral Brett Giroir, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health
