BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Jack Young and other officials on Tuesday offered an update on the city's response to COVID-19.
Fire Chief Niles Ford said he's ordered all members of the department to wear surgical masks throughout their entire shift.
Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said there are currently 12 positive cases of COVID-19 in the department, while 67 others are awaiting results.
An additional 150 are being quarantined. Since the beginning of the outbreak, 309 total members have been placed into quarantine, 194 others have been cleared to return to work.
Harrison says all officers are now being required to wear an N-95 masks during any public interaction. Daily health checks in the department call for officers to check their temperatures twice daily, according to Harrison.
Officials have begun to relocate 150 vulnerable elderly homeless individuals from three emergency shelters to area motels.
Mayor Young says Pimlico Race Track is ready to operate as a testing site. The city is still waiting on testing kits to arrive, and is hoping to receive them by the end of the week.
The city's financial situation was also addressed. Currently the city is looking at a $42 million deficit during the current fiscal year and a write down revenue of more than $100 million in the next fiscal year. Leaders are looking at several different paths to find funding for the future response to the virus, including from the Rainy Day fund.
There are currently 459 confirmed cases in Baltimore including nine deaths.
