Montgomery Mall temporarily closes "majority of our shopping center operations" due to coronavirus

Westfield announced it has temporarily closed the "majority of our shopping center operations" at both Montgomery Mall in Bethesda and Wheaton Plaza "to further contribute to the fight against this pandemic," the mall operator said in a statement. This was among the latest, and largest-scale, retail closures due to the spread of the coronavirus in Montgomery County. "Essential retailers" may remain independently open at both malls, Westfield said, but did not provide a list of open businesses at either property.

However, the websites for both malls appear to indicate on the "Stores" list which businesses are open, and which are closed. For example, the dry cleaners at Montgomery Mall is listed as open, as is Dick's Sporting Goods at Wheaton Plaza. Other businesses say, "Closed," where the hours should be. But Westfield recommends you call ahead to confirm if the specific business you wish to patronize is actually open, and what their hours are, as this is subject to change at any time as the covid-19 crisis continues to rapidly develop.

Coronavirus hospital tents erected across Montgomery County but "don't be alarmed," health officer says

Hogan delays primary to June 2

as more businesses shutter

While the public is told that there are still only 24 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Montgomery County, coronavirus tent hospitals were suddenly erected Tuesday at hospitals across the county. County Health Officier Travis Gayles tried to get ahead of public concerns on this development, saying "don't be alarmed." He said the tents are simply triage centers so that potential coronavirus patients do not have to enter the hospitals' emergency departments, where they might infect others.

A shortage of test kits remains here and nationwide, and Gayles stressed that these tents were not offering testing services to the public. The tent hospitals were erected yesterday at Holy Cross Hospital's Forest Glen and Germantown campuses, Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Adventist White Oak Medical Center, Adventist Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, and MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney. It's interesting that none of the hospitals mentioned the new tents on their social media feeds yesterday.

Two notable aspects on the latest coronavirus numbers across the state: Montgomery County has by far the highest number of confirmed cases, many times that of any other county; the reason(s) for that other than population size would be worth investigating. Second, for a disease that appears designed to hit the senior population hard, the majority of current cases in Maryland are between the ages of 18 and 64. No cases have been confirmed among residents under the age of 18.

On Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan postponed the state's primary election to June 2, 2020. It's unclear how it will be any safer or healthier for the public to go out to vote that soon, and many are speculating that Maryland could be forced to institute a vote by mail election. In fact, the special election to fill Elijah Cummings' Congressional seat will now be conducted by mail, so stay tuned for election developments that effect us here in Montgomery County.

More businesses are closing due to the pandemic. Paul Bakery and bluemercury in Bethesda, and all Macy's stores in Montgomery County, were among the latest on a sober St. Patrick's Day. Macy's announced it would reopen at the end of the month (again, highly unlikely, as with schools and businesses - all indications are that we will be in a much worse, not better, situation by then).

Target is reducing hours at all Montgomery County locations and nationwide. The big box store, Whole Foods Market, and Safeway were among those promising to institute times of the day during which only seniors and people with certain health issues may enter the store beginning this week.

The "senior hours" idea had been promoted heavily online in recent days by social media influencers, but it's unclear how effective it would be in preventing the spread of coronavirus, since those same people could carry it into the store anyway. Seniors are in the second-largest age group among current coronavirus cases. In practice, it may simply force the rest of the public to cram into more crowded aisles during increasingly fewer store hours, creating more stress and more spread of the disease. Not to mention shutting out folks from the small restocked amounts of hard-to-get supplies that people are hoarding like toilet paper and disinfecting wipes.

Sometimes people need to think before enacting a knee-jerk policy just because it sounds woke. Here's an idea: Retailers and suppliers actually restocking supplies, and operating on regular hours, instead of trying to add to the panic and hoarding. Imagine people not punching each other over a pack of Charmin because, after the initial supply shock, trucks would start rolling and it would be restocked in sufficient supply. Perhaps the paper companies have found a novel way to make money without selling their products. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Photo courtesy Montgomery County Government

7-Eleven sets opening date at Montgomery Mall

The epic delays in the construction of the new 7-Eleven store inside Westfield Montgomery Mall appear to finally be reaching an end. The store now has an official grand opening date of March 27, 2020. Let's face it - timing is not their thing.

Perhaps the only thing worse than opening a store in the middle of a pandemic - from a business standpoint - would be opening a movie theater or restaurant. But once things get back to normal, this is going to be an interesting venture to watch. It is either rare or unprecedented for a 7-Eleven to open in a mall food court. The layout of the store, and which products and categories are emphasized, will be intriguing to see.

Congressional Plaza construction update (Photos)

Construction continues on the future Barnes & Noble bookstore and FITRow section at Congressional Plaza. As you can see, much more has been done outside than inside at the Barnes & Noble. The opposite is true inside FITRow. Some branding signage has been installed and work is well underway building what will be three new fitness studios by three different chains.

Maryland orders bars, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms to close to prevent coronavirus spread

Warning the coronavirus pandemic will be "much harder [and] take much longer" than the public may realize, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced he is taking "drastic actions right now," that will be "terribly disruptive, but absolutely necessary." Hogan ordered all Maryland bars, restaurants, movie theaters and gyms to close indefinitely by 5:00 PM today. He said curbside pickup and drive-thru food sales could continue as normal.

Hogan also banned the holding of events of more than 50 people. Two-hundred and fifty Maryland State Troopers are being deployed to enforce these orders, as well as address any other law enforcement matters during the pandemic, he said, stressing that the closures and bans will be vigorously enforced.

All grocery stores, pharmacies and banks are remain open, Hogan said. The governor said he has ordered an immediate assessment of which currently-closed hospital facilities across the state can be reopened. Hogan suggested such actions could potentially add up to 6000 additional hospital beds, which are currently too few to meet the demand of the worst-case scenario with covid-19.

Hogan also activated the Maryland Medical Reserve Corps this morning. In addition, he said any physician with an active out-of-state medical license, or an expired Maryland license, will be allowed to practice medicine during the coronavirus crisis.

A thousand Maryland National Guard troops have been deployed this morning for the pandemic, and Hogan said another 1200 are on immediate standby. The governor enacted an executive order preventing any utility, including cable companies, from cutting off service to any customer statewide. Hogan also barred landlords from evicting tenants until further notice.

The state has applied for federal relief regarding meals for needy students. Hogan said the Trump administration has made it possible for Maryland to now provide three meals a day, and a snack to every child who needs them statewide.

Montgomery County coronavirus briefing deemed "a hot mess," MoCo admits true case count unknown

Some retail property owners

prepare for takeout-only dining as

nationwide COVID-19 lockdown looms

If Montgomery County Government's Facebook Live skills are indicative of its overall coronavirus response, we may be in real trouble, some citizens who tried to watch a Sunday online briefing concluded. "What a hot mess," one viewer commented during the glitch-ridden livestream. "This does not bode well for the count[y's] ability to respond to this pandemic," she added.

"No one can get important info," another viewer commented. "MoCo you need to fix this." One viewer noted there was no sign language interpreter visible in the livestream. "Video and sound keep going in and out...why can't we watch?" asked another.

Later the County acknowledged the technical issues. The press conference would be provided as a recording later, officials promised. Resident interest in more information from officials was piqued by several dramatic coronavirus-related announcements by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, and ThinkFoodGroup's decision to be the first major restaurant company to shutter its businesses to encourage people to stay home as coronavirus cases continue to multiply.

New curbside pickup parking
spaces at Bethesda Row

In related news, an official County coronavirus update email sent to residents acknowledged that the "official" number of coronavirus cases - which is relatively low but multiplying each day - can't be considered accurate. We have the same lack of testing here as has been the case nationwide. Criteria limiting who may be tested remains in place, primarily because there still aren't enough test kits for the number of patients asking to be tested. County officials said Montgomery County police have had to be summoned several times when patients grew disorderly after being denied a coronavirus test.

At the federal level, new domestic travel recommendations or restrictions and potential lockdowns may be announced as early as today. There have been discussions regarding restricting or discouraging interstate travel and use of air travel within the United States. Many have called for a nationwide "social distancing" lockdown that would close all businesses except for grocery stores, pharmacies and banks, as was instituted by Italy. President Trump is said to be reviewing all options in the context of the current coronavirus case numbers.

Bethesda Row property owner Federal Realty was one of the first to take concrete steps if federal or state authorities were to mandate restaurants operate only as takeout businesses or drive-thrus. In the last few days, new "curbside pickup" parking spaces were added. They have a 10-minute time limit for restaurant employees to bring out whatever packaging is still legal this week in ban-happy Montgomery County.

Some Montgomery County businesses close, gym confirms member has coronavirus

The first coronavirus-related business closures in Montgomery County have occurred. The Apple Stores at Bethesda Row and Westfield Montgomery Mall have closed until March 27, 2020. Apple is closing all of its stores outside of China until that date. Mynd Spa & Salon at Pike & Rose announced at the close of business last night that it would close indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While those businesses closed to avoid employees and customers contracting covid-19, upscale gym Equinox in Bethesda already had a member who did. WUSA-9 reported that the Bethesda Row fitness facility confirmed a member tested positive for coronavirus after last working out there on March 9. Some employees and members of the gym expressed anxiety over its decision not to temporarily close, and WUSA-9 cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that suggest a 24-hour closure is needed before an exposure site can be disinfected.

Mall operator Westfield released identical statements regarding its Montgomery Mall and Wheaton Plaza properties Saturday. Westfield stressed that both retail centers remain open, but that it will allow individual tenants to change hours or close as needed to protect their staff and patrons. The company added that the open status of the mall could change if the CDC or government authorities request such gathering places be closed.

President Trump announced he tested negative for coronavirus on Saturday. The United Kingdom announced citizens 70 and older would be asked to self-isolate in the near future, but Maryland Larry Hogan had long ago recommended Marylanders 60 and older do just that to avoid exposure to the virus.

Some of the business closures appear to be driven by the same magical thinking of local politicians that schools would somehow be able to reopen in only two weeks. That will almost certainly not be the case. Testing locally and nationally remains inadequate, and as a result, we have no true sense of how far and how rapidly covid-19 has spread in our county and region yet. But no credible medical professional believes this will blow over in two weeks. "I'm not an epidemiologist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."