The shooting was reported at around 11:30 p.m. near Courtney Place and Nalley Road in Hyattsville, Maryland.

One of the two wounded men is in critical condition in a nearby hospital, and the other has non life-threatening injuries. At this time there is no word on a suspect or motive.

Below is a map of where the incident took place.

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At approximately 10:16 p.m., Prince George’s County Fire and EMS arrived at the Highview Terrace apartment complex in Hyattsville, Maryland. Firefighters located the deceased in a bedroom of an apartment unit where the fire appears to have been contained, according to the Prince George’s County Fire Department.

Upon arrival, firefighters also noticed smoke alarms in the apartment were not sounding. The fire has since been put out.

Prince George’s County Office of Emergency Management will be assisting four displaced residents, while fire investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.听

Update: Fire appears to have been contained to a bedroom in one apartment which is where crews located the deceased victim. units were dispatched at approx 10:12 pm and arrived on scene at approx 10:16 pm.

— Prince George鈥檚 County Fire and EMS (@PGFD草莓传媒)

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Beginning April 10, Montgomery County Parks announced it will open an additional section of Sligo Creek Parkway to people on weekends between Forest Glen Road and University Boulevard. Other weekend road closures are scheduled in Kensington and Bethesda as well.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission recently extended its regular Sunday closures of Sligo Creek Parkway for motorists to Fridays and Saturdays to free up more outdoor park space.

The news comes as the department continues its efforts to expand safe access to park facilities for recreation and exercise purposes.

In addition, the sections below of Sligo Creek Parkway will be closed to vehicles and remain open for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other park users Friday mornings at 9 a.m. through Sunday evenings at 6 p.m.:

• University Boulevard West to Dennis Avenue
• Dennis Avenue to Forest Glen Road
• Piney Branch Avenue to Maple Avenue
• Maple Avenue to Old Carroll Avenue

However, sections of Sligo Creek Parkway will remain open to vehicles at the intersection of Dennis and Maple Avenues.

“Overall, people are driving much less during the COVID-19 crisis, so we believe opening the parkway to people is a good way to help them get outside to exercise and relieve stress during this difficult times,鈥� said Director of Montgomery Parks Mike Riley in a news release Wednesday.

鈥淭his additional 2.6 miles of roadway gives people more space for jogging, walking, biking, and other recreational activities while still adhering to social distancing guidelines.鈥�

To ensure the safety of park and trail users, Montgomery Parks has taken various measures, including closing all indoor facilities, prohibiting the use of playgrounds, basketball courts and athletic fields and locking all tennis courts until further notice.

In addition, most of Little Falls Parkway will be closed to drivers between Massachusetts Avenue and downtown Bethesda on Fridays and weekends, giving joggers and cyclists who normally use the nearby Capital Crescent Trail extra space to spread out.

Most of Beach Drive in Kensington between Connecticut Avenue and Knowles Avenue will also be dedicated to pedestrians on Fridays and weekends.

Montgomery County has canceled events, classes and programs through April 30, 2020.

草莓传媒’s Dave Dildine contributed to this report.

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Echo, a 5-year-old female cheetah at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute, or SCBI, in Front Royal, started having contractions and birthed her first cub shortly after 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Other cubs soon followed, and the new mom and her litter are bonding without interference in multiple dens. It may be some time before keepers can determine the cubs’ sexes.

“It鈥檚 thrilling and humbling to witness something as special as an animal birth,” Steve Monfort, the institute’s director, said in a statement.

Smithsonian staff are closely monitoring Echo and her cubs though a .

Although Echo is a first-time mom, SCBI staff are confident about her maternal instincts and abilities.

“She was raised by her own mother without human intervention, so there鈥檚 a good chance Echo has learned cheetah parenting behaviors from the best teacher 鈥� her mother,” biologist Adrienne Crosier said in a statement.

The sire of the cubs is 4-year-old Scott. He and Echo were paired and bred in January. And in late February, veterinarians confirmed that Echo was pregnant.

Since 2007, 14 litters of cheetah cubs have been born at SCBI.

The institute is part of the, a group of 10 cheetah breeding centers in the U.S. The coalition’s mission is to create and maintain a sustainable North American cheetah population under human care.

Cheetahs are considered vulnerable, according to the , which compiles a list of endangered species.

Echo’s cubs are a significant addition to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums鈥� Species Survival Plan for Cheetahs, as each individual contributes to this program, an .

鈥淚鈥檓 eager to watch the newborn cubs in their early days. During this extremely tumultuous and isolating time, we want the new cheetah cam and all our live animal webcams to provide much needed moments of relief and inspiration from our natural world,” Monfort said.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is temporarily closed to the public. However, animal keepers and veterinary staff remain working听 to provide care for the animals.

Watch Echo giving birth below. (Editor’s note: The content of the video may be disturbing to some viewers)

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Spring cleaning for a lot people started early as a result of teleworking and staying home because of the coronavirus crisis.

If you have put it off or if you’re confused about where to begin, remain calm. With a few easy tips, decluttering your space for spring should be a breeze.

Where to start?听

If it’s been a while since you organized your home, it might feel daunting. Interior design expert, Wendy Donohue of , suggests not to overwhelm yourself.

“Start with a small room first like a bathroom,” said Donohue, whose business is based in Alexandria, Virginia.

“Go through everything, all the cabinets under the sink, the vanity, drawers in your bathroom, the linen closets. The best thing is to empty everything and clean it out.”

After you’re done emptying out your cabinets and drawers, Donohue suggests wiping everything down to get rid of dust. Once you are finished, it will be easier to differentiate which items you want to keep or throw out.

When you eventually work your way to a larger room, Donohue recommends creating donate and ditch bins. If you’re not entirely ready to rid yourself of an item, put those items in a box and store them away for the future.

What if you鈥檙e on a budget?听

If you don’t have the bank account to fund a large organization project, there are affordable tips you can follow. Some can even be found in your local grocery store.

“There are so many ways to use containers,” Donahue added. “For instance, the containers you get in the grocery store, in the vegetable aisle that hold mushrooms or blueberries. Wash them out and put them in a drawer to house something small, such as barrettes, combs or clips.”

Shoe boxes and plastic tumblers also go a long way, said Donohue. Use a magic marker to label them in order to have everything in one spot.

“Instead of having one thing all over the house, have it one place,” Donohue said.

What if you live in a small space?听

If you live in a studio or live with roommates, it can be challenging to find a home for all your belongings. Donohue recommends going vertical.

“Stacking items, using the back of a door or shoe racks that are clear so you can see what鈥檚 inside are fantastic ways to use space.”

Utilizing space under the bed or couch is a great spot for items, she said. Place whatever items you don’t want to see in a bin or box and hide them under there.

How to maintain order听

After you’re done with your initial reorganization, make sure to have a certain place for every item. Donohue said when you鈥檝e already designated a place, you know exactly where things should go and there鈥檚 no confusion.

Dedicating time to figure out what you use on a daily basis and what you don’t can make a huge difference.

“I always tell people that there are so many needy people out there right now, that if you can donate something you are doing a wonderful thing to help somebody out,” said Donohue.

And before you put everything out on the curb for the trash, make sure there aren’t any restrictions.

Arlington is one jurisdiction that asked its residents not to put out their spring cleaning junk because it’s been overwhelmed by the amount of stuff people have put out since the coronavirus outbreak started.

The county also suspended its curbside bulk trash pickup and canceled its spring E-CARE recycling and disposal event.

Alexandria eliminated its popular four-week curbside, bulk pickup program that used to happen in April, but the city will let people put large items out with the trash on regular pickup days.

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• Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know

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At round 7 p.m. a fire started in the living room of the condo located at San Leandro Place, near Mount Vernon Woods Elementary School according to Assistant Chief of Fairfax County Fire Jason Jenkins.

A woman was taken to the hospital with burns on her hands. Another man suffered burns, but did not go to the hospital.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire. Below is a map of where the incident took place.

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From 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, the following roads听will be closed:

• The Memorial Bridge
• Lincoln Memorial Circle
• Potomac River Freeway (all exits to Ohio Drive and Independence Avenue)
• Rock Creek Parkway/Potomac Parkway Drive (between Virginia Avenue and Independence SW)
• Independence Avenue between Ohio Drive and 14th Street SW
• 23rd Street between Constitution Avenue and Lincoln Memorial Circle
• Henry Bacon Drive between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW
• 17th Street between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW
• 15th Street between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW
• Maine Avenue between Independence and 12th Street SW
• All vehicular exits to East Potomac Park and West Potomac Park

In addition, Parking Lots A, B, and C on Ohio Drive S and East Potomac Park between the East Potomac Golf Course and Hains Port. Additional closures will ensue should excessive visitation continues.

The National Park Service strongly urges people against visiting the Tidal Basin in order to help flatten the curve and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Lately, social distancing has not been possible due to high visitor volume.

The cherry blossoms reached peak bloom Friday.

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Here’s the latest from around the region:

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• How coronavirus has affected sports
• Coronavirus test results in DC, Maryland and Virginia
• Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know
• Closings and delays

National Cherry Blossom Festival

The on April 11 has been canceled.

Here are the other changes related to the festival:

• March 20 鈥� The 鈥淧ink Tie Party鈥� is postponed. The silent auction fundraiser will still take place online.
• March 21 鈥� The opening ceremony will not take place as planned at the Warner Theatre, and is looking to possibly livestream the event.
• March 28 鈥� The Blossom Kite Festival is canceled.
• April 4 鈥� Sakura Matsuri-Japanese Street festival has been postponed.
• April 5 — Anacostia River Festival has been rescheduled for Aug. 9.
• And the Tidal Basin Welcome Area is canceled.

Museums/music venues/libraries

• will temporarily close to the public March 14 until further notice.
• Mount Vernon听is closed to visitors from March 14 to March 31.
• The 9:30 Club, Lincoln Theatre and The Anthem, as well as “9:30 Club Presents” shows at U Street Music Hall, will postpone shows for the remainder of March.
• Performances and public events at the Kennedy Center are
• will postpone, cancel or stream events through March 31.
• canceled the March 13 free first preview performance of “Guys and Dolls” but听 the March 14 showing will continue as planned. Performances from March 16-April 4 are canceled and performances are tentatively scheduled to resume April 6. The theater also canceled History on Foot waking tours March 21-April 4 and the Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium on March 21.
• has postponed its April performances of “Cost of Living” until September. All theater education programs will be suspended through April 3.
• The canceled the Mozart Requiem concert scheduled for March 21.
• Libraries around the region are also taking measures to respond to the outbreak.听Calvert Library听is canceling all library events and meeting room use starting March 14, and will close its buildings starting March 16.听Anne Arundel County Public Library听has also closed its locations through March 29.
• 听is canceling all performances and events beginning March 13 through March 30. In addition, the听Sondheim Award Gala honoring Carol Burnett will be postponed for June 29.
• The Washington Monument will close temporarily starting March 14, the National Park Service said.
• Beginning Saturday, March 14, the closed.
• Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, will be closed through the end of March, the theme Twitter.

Worship services

• The and other Episcopal churches in the D.C. area are closed for two weeks, starting March 12.
• The will suspend the public celebration of Mass and there will be no scheduled Confessions effective Saturday, March 14, until further notice, as directed by the Archdiocese of Washington.
• has closed their building and all operations through March 29.
• Archbishop Wilton Gregory of the said that masses open to the public in all parishes, missions and ministries will not be celebrated starting Saturday, March 14 until further notice. Weddings and funerals may proceed but attendance should be limited to immediate family. Gregory has also issued a dispensation from the obligation to attend mass to the archdiocese’s parishioners during this time.
• The The Catholic Diocese of Arlington announced that public celebration of all masses in the diocese is .

Outdoor events

• St. Pat’s Run Fest in Arlington, Virginia, is canceled. It was set to run March 14-15.
• Though the National Cherry Blossom Festival has not been entirely canceled, a number of events during its first week (March 20-28) have been canceled.

Arlington Cemetery

The cemetery is closed to visitors effective March 13, although funerals will continue as scheduled. The cemetery .

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Many of the region’s businesses, schools and events have seen closures or cancellations in efforts to prevent the virus from spreading.

鈥淚n our efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we are making some prudent decisions regarding government operations and offices to protect Prince Georgians,鈥� county executive Angela Alsobrooks said in a news release Saturday.

鈥淭hese upcoming changes to government operations will ensure our county government continues to function and provide the critical programs and services that many of our most vulnerable residents rely on.鈥�

Alsobrooks is overseeing a coordinated effort among county agencies, as well as Prince George鈥檚 County Public Schools, the M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation and the Prince George鈥檚 County Memorial Library System, to help flatten the infection curve of COVID-19.

In addition, the Prince George鈥檚 County Department of Family Services will collaborate with the Department of Public Works and Transportation to provide meal deliveries for seniors receiving meals at the Department of Family Services Senior Nutrition Program.

The Department of Family Services will arrange for seven frozen meal packs to be delivered by public works personnel to seniors鈥� residences between 10 a.m. 鈥� 4 p.m.

Seniors participating in the program must be present to receive the meals, as drivers won鈥檛 leave meals unless someone is home to receive them. The service will launch Monday, March 16.

A full list of Prince George’s County government closures and cancellations is listed below.

• Prince George鈥檚 County Public Schools: All PGCPS will be closed beginning Monday, March 16, 2020 through Friday, March 27.
• The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation: All facilities will be closed, with limited park maintenance operations. Cancellation to all programs and events will be effective Monday, March 16.
• The Prince George鈥檚 County Memorial Library System: All libraries will be closed until further notice beginning Monday, March 16. Programs, outreach events, meeting room activities, and passport services will be suspended indefinitely.

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The School Without Walls High School closed after a staff member came in contact with a patient who ended up testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

On Saturday, March 8, a man who ended up staying the night in a D.C. residence, presented himself to a Maryland hospital before testing positive for the virus.

Based on an investigation by DC Health, three individuals who stayed in the same residence as the man, who is referred to as Patient 2, were tested for the virus. Their tests turned out to be negative.

One of those three individuals was discovered to be an employee at the high school. She continues to be asymptomatic.

This is the first school in the D.C. area to announce a closure since a total of nine cases were discovered in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.

To give the school’s administration enough time to communicate with staff members and families, the school decided to close Monday. Out of caution, the school will also undergo a deep disinfection before students and staff return.

The District of Columbia International School also closed Monday morning for “a deep cleaning of surfaces.”

There is no word on if any student or staff from that school came into contact with the virus.

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A day after three Montgomery County, Maryland, residents were diagnosed with coronavirus following an overseas trip, County Executive Marc Elrich said officials are working on figuring out where those people have been since they returned.

“The Department of Health is working to get the travel histories of all of the individuals, where they were, how they came back here and what they’ve been doing since they’ve been back here, and they’re going to follow up and monitor those individuals and also look at where they’ve had contacts in the community,” Elrich said.

And the county’s health department is working with the state to help establish contacts the individuals made while sick, said Dr. Travis Gayles, county health officer and chief of public health services.

It appears that the patients here are doing well clinically, Gayles said, and the cases appear mild so far, adding, “We don鈥檛 have any evidence of community-transmitted cases of COVID-19.”

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Elrich said the county has been preparing for this type of scenario since January.

“I think everybody kind of knew intuitively that once it was in the United States that sooner or later it would be popping up in different places,” Elrich said. “We knew that Marylanders, like everybody else, travel around the world and have contact with people, and that it was entirely likely that this scenario would develop something like this.”

There are a number of people being looked at who have had contact with those who were diagnosed with coronavirus, Gayles said.

Elrich added, “We have to be extra careful about what we do in the course of things to make sure that the spread of this virus is contained.”

Elrich advised residents to stay away from those who are sick, and that individuals who believe they are sick should not travel.

Montgomery County Council President Sidney Katz, who was also at the news conference Friday, added, “We want to make it clear: This is not a crisis.”

Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland鈥檚 largest school system, announced that it will remain open. The county is, however, prepared for the possibility of future school closures.

The school system is encouraging families to remain vigilant and consult health providers if anyone begins experiencing symptoms believed to be related to the coronavirus.

On Thursday night,听Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency听after the three cases of coronavirus were confirmed. These are the first confirmed cases in the state, and were positively identified by a Maryland lab in Baltimore.

What about colleges and universities?

Chancellor Jay Perman with the University System of Maryland issued guidance to its 12 institutions to consider postponing or canceling large gatherings, which could include events such as ceremonies, sports events, concerts or large seminar classes.

“I am not issuing a mandate, but I am advising that we be smart and apply our best judgment to a situation that is changing hourly,” Perman said.

For essential meetings, he is encouraging those be held in environments where social distancing can be achieved.

He also said he wants schools to be prepared to immediately go to online instruction, and for employees to be able to telework from home, potentially for sustained periods.

“The university system is not canceling classes or shutting down offices at this time. I am simply advising campuses to verify that they can go to an online environment quickly should the need arise,” Perman said.

Johns Hopkins experts brief Capitol Hill officials

Also on Friday, medical experts at Johns Hopkins University held a briefing for Capitol Hill officials.

Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said: “The goal is to get to a place where any patient, which has symptoms consistent with coronavirus, can be tested quickly. We are not at that point now. We don’t have the bandwidth now, but that is the goal.”

He and others spoke about the importance of expanding diagnostic testing; around 45 out of the 50 states have the ability to do testing. Vaccine development is likely to be 12 to 18 months away.

Johns Hopkins has more information .

Watch the briefing here:

草莓传媒’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.

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Tim Hudson, a bus operator with WMATA, was on his usual D6 route when he noticed a cab had been in an accident on the right side of the street around Columbus Circle by Union Station in Northeast D.C.

As Hudson approached the end of the circle, he noticed the cab in the left lane of the median strip. The driver was slumped to the right inside and still wearing a seat belt.

After Hudson took swift action, there’s hope for the unidentified driver.

Hudson immediately pulled his bus over, grabbed his safety vest and exited to investigate. When he approached the cab, Hudson noticed the driver was still slumped over, shallowly breathing with saliva dripping from his mouth.

The driver’s door was locked, and Hudson was unable to get it open. He ran around to the passenger side of the cab where the window was down.

Hudson then began hollering into the cab, in an attempt to wake the driver up. Because of the accident, Hudson was unable to get the passenger side of the door to open.

Eventually, he was able to rip the door open to get to the driver inside. Hudson then began shaking the driver with the hope of waking him up.

“He wasn’t responsive at all,” Hudson said. “At this point, I didn’t have my cellphone with me, it was on the bus in my bag. So I had to run back to the bus and I let the passengers on the bus know we had a medical emergency and I need to call 911.”

Hudson stepped off the bus and dialed 911, describing the scene to the dispatcher before returning to the unresponsive cab driver.

The dispatcher ordered Hudson to remove the driver from the car and immediately begin administering CPR.

“I let her [the dispatcher] know I had never done CPR,” Hudson told 草莓传媒. “So then I turned to other pedestrians on the sidewalk and called for help and a Spanish gentleman comes over.”

Hudson told 草莓传媒 the car was not moving before he and the pedestrian began attempting to extract the driver. However, once they started to remove the driver, the cab suddenly began to move.

Because the pedestrian had his arms underneath the driver, he was able to sustain his weight. However, the movement of the car caused the cab driver’s feet to fall out.

Quick on his feet, Hudson stepped over and applied the break, putting the car in park. Once Hudson and the pedestrian removed the driver from the cab, the dispatcher began describing to Hudson how to administer CPR.

“She said ‘OK, this is what you need to do,'” Hudson said. “‘Place your hands on his chest and one 鈥� two 鈥� three 鈥� four 鈥� one 鈥� two 鈥� three 鈥� four as hard as you can.’ And I began to do [administer] that to him.”

Shortly thereafter, the fire department arrived, and the EMT took over.

When asked if he was scared, Hudson responded, “I wasn’t caught up in being scared. There wasn’t time to be scared. I knew that if that was me, I would want anybody to do the same for me.”

After getting a bit choked up, Hudson added: “It hurts my heart that the accident must have happened a minute or two before that and nobody assisted this man. Society we live in now, people just don’t care about people no more. So for me it was just being in the right place at the right time, and I knew God had me there for a reason.”

Hudson, who has been with Metro for eight years, said the entire experience has inspired him to enroll in CPR training and recommends other Metrobus drivers do the same.

“You never know when you’re going to need it, and you might not have your cellphone or nobody might not be around so I think everybody should have it.” Hudson said.

Hudson said after his CPR attempts, the driver’s breathing appeared to stabilize.

However, the driver is still hospitalized, and his condition in unknown at this time.

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has declared a state of emergency after three Montgomery County residents tested positive for coronavirus.

A state lab in Baltimore confirmed the first three positive cases of coronavirus in the state.

The patients contracted the virus while overseas and they are in good condition, Hogan said during a news conference Thursday night at the Maryland State House.

The patients include a married couple in their 70s and a woman in her 50s, Hogan said.

Officials are aware of the patients’ travel histories but didn’t disclose them Thursday evening, citing privacy concerns.

Watch Hogan’s remarks in the video below.

LIVE: COVID-19 Update – March 5, 2020

鈥� Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan)

Vice President Mike Pence and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been notified about the cases in Maryland’s largest county, Hogan said.

“When they were notified that they had a possibility of exposure, they brought themselves to a hospital,” said Fran Phillips, deputy secretary for public health services in Maryland. “They were not severely ill. They were not hospitalized. They stayed at home and brought themselves to a hospital in order to be tested.”

Maryland’s Department of Health advises anyone who has traveled to an area that has confirmed cases of coronavirus, or has come in contact with someone who has contracted the novel virus, to take the following steps:

• Call your doctor or emergency room before you go.
• Tell them about recent travel and close contacts (such as people in your household).
• Wear a mask, if one is available.

“While this news is serious, I want to again remind everyone that this is exactly what our state has been actively and aggressively been preparing for, for many weeks now,” Hogan said.

Montgomery County Public Schools will remain open, the school system said in a news release. “As we move forward, we are preparing for the possibility of school closures in the future should this become necessary,” the school system said.

• More coronavirus news
• Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know
• How many cases are there in Md., DC and Va.?
• Montgomery Co. schools plan to remain open after county residents test positive for coronavirus

Earlier Thursday, Hogan said he submitted a proposed supplemental budget that included $10 million for emergency coronavirus preparedness expenses.

“While today’s news may seem overwhelming, this is not a reason to panic,” Hogan said. “Marylanders should go to work or go to school as they normally do. At the same time, I want to continue to remind everyone to prepare themselves and to continue to stay informed.”

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich will provide an update on the confirmed cases Friday morning.

The CDC released a听听about how households should handle a potential outbreak of coronavirus in their community. For more information on the coronavirus outbreak in Maryland, visit the

草莓传媒’s Zeke Hartner contributed to this report.

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency shortly after announcing the state’s first three cases on Thursday night.

Though schools will remain open, the county is prepared for the possibility of future school closures.

The school system is encouraging Montgomery County families to remain vigilant and consult health providers if anyone begins experiencing symptoms believed to be related to the coronavirus.

“State officials have shared that they do not believe [the individuals who tested positive] have had contact with MCPS students,” the school system said in a .

“As you know, we have been preparing for this situation through our interagency coordination with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security,” the letter said.

“As we move forward, we are preparing for the possibility of school closures in the future should this become necessary.”

• More coronavirus news
• Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know
• How many cases are there in Md., DC and Va.?

Montgomery County Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Monifa McKnight told 草莓传媒 on Thursday that plans for remote instruction and hard copy lessons would be ready should schools have to close due to the coronavirus.

She was repeating a message delivered in a briefing Tuesday with county officials.

Any decisions about closing an individual school, or all schools across the system, would come from the county鈥檚 Department of Health and Human Services, McKnight said.

County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles, who would be the person to make the call on school closures, was asked what would trigger that decision.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no hard and fast criteria, in terms of being able to say if five cases happen, this is what we would do. I would just emphasize that we would look at all of those factors of information to make a decision that鈥檚 also in concert with our state officials,鈥� Gayles told reporters.

Schools Superintendent Jack Smith said he鈥檚 constantly getting updates on the response to the coronavirus. Smith leads Maryland鈥檚 largest school system, with 208 school buildings and more than 165,000 students.

A married couple in their 70s and a woman in her 50s tested positive for the virus, Hogan said. They contracted the virus while traveling overseas.

鈥淲hile today鈥檚 news may seem overwhelming, this is not a reason to panic,鈥� Hogan said. 鈥淢arylanders should go to work or go to school, as they normally do. At the same time, I want to continue to remind everyone to prepare themselves and to continue to stay informed.鈥�

For future school-related announcements about coronavirus in the county, visit the .

草莓传媒’s Kate Ryan reported from Rockville, Maryland.

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