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US President Joe Biden Arrival

Katherine Frey

The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service. Follow this story and more by <a href='https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/health-science-environment-alerts/?method=SURL&location=ART&initiative=FREE'>signing up for health, science, and environment email alerts</a>.

The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/local/dc-maryland-virginia-coronavirus-cases/">number of known coronavirus cases</a> in the District, Maryland and Virginia was 99,602 on Thursday, with 49,709 cases in Maryland, 41,401 in Virginia and 8,492 in the District. The number of virus-related deaths reached 2,428 in Maryland, 1,338 in Virginia and 453 in the District, for a total of 4,219 fatalities.

From Wednesday: D.C. to join Northern Virginia in slight reopening Friday; Maryland suburbs not sure

Here are some of the most significant recent developments as the region responds to the pandemic of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?arc404=true">the novel coronavirus</a>, which causes the disease covid-19:

• Montgomery County will begin to loosen restrictions at 6 a.m. Monday, county leaders announced Thursday. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) moved much of the state into the first phase of reopening on May 15, but Montgomery had opted out because of the heavy concentration of infections in the region.

• Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) said key metrics tied to the coronavirus are trending down, allowing the county to move forward with a gradual reopening on June 1. Prince George’s and Montgomery counties kept restrictions after Gov. Larry Hogan (R) moved the state into the first phase of recovery two weeks ago.

• The District, Maryland and Virginia on Thursday reported more than 2,500 new cases of the coronavirus, as well as 101 additional deaths. The number of deaths is the highest recorded in Virginia in a single day — the second-consecutive day of a record death toll, topping the 45 deaths announced Wednesday.

• More than 96,000 unemployment claims were filed last week in the District, Maryland and Virginia, according to figures released Thursday by the Labor Department. About 1.4 million claims have been filed in the three jurisdictions since the coronavirus pandemic hit the region in March.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/05/08/dc-reopen-coronavirus-faq/">When will D.C. reopen?</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/05/08/virginia-reopen-coronavirus-faq/">What is open in Virginia?</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/05/08/maryland-reopen-coronavirus-faq/">What is open in Maryland?</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/local/dc-maryland-virginia-coronavirus-cases/">Known coronavirus cases in the region</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/getting-tested-for-coronavirus-in-virginia-maryland-dc/2020/03/26/5e19f608-6de9-11ea-a3ec-70d7479d83f0_story.html">How to get tested</a>

U.S. President Donald Trump participates in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) live town on hall on America returning to work held at Lincoln Memorial in Washington

Please read The Post’s continuing coverage <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/montgomer-prince-georges-to-start-reopening-monday/2020/05/28/248c2164-a0ec-11ea-b5c9-570a91917d8d_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_15" target="_blank">here</a>.

Tom Jackman

Loudoun County Supervisor Candidates, Bob Ohneiser, Phyllis Randall, and John Whitbeck, Debated for Chair-at-Large on October 9, 2019 in Leesburg, Virginia. Democrat Phyllis Randall is the county's first African American to hold the chairman's position...

In April, Loudoun County Board Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D) ordered the county’s flag lowered to half-staff at all county facilities to honor Loudoun residents who had died of covid-19, and also to recognize workers involved in responding to the pandemic. But Thursday, Randall ordered the flag restored to its full height to coincide with Loudoun entering Phase One of the “Forward Virginia” reopening plan established by Gov. Ralph Northam (D).

It’s a small, symbolic step of the Washington suburbs’ slow movement toward returning to a semblance of normalcy since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the country in mid-March.

Loudoun was one of the Northern Virginia jurisdictions that did not join the rest of the state when Northam launched Phase One last week. Officials in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Accomack County opted out of reopening businesses because the number of coronavirus cases had not leveled off. As of Thursday, Loudoun has reported 2,318 total cases of coronavirus, and 63 county residents have died.

Beginning last month, Loudoun flew its own flag at half-staff at county facilities every Monday from dawn to dusk. “I am ever mindful of the human toll that this pandemic has taken,” Randall said. “While this flag order may be ending, never doubt that all of us in the county government are thinking of and honoring the victims of this disease and their families as well as our first responders and essential workers who are on the front lines in the fight against the pandemic.” 

In Virginia, local officials have the authority to lower their jurisdictional flags on public property, but not the United States or Virginia flags.

Virus Outbreak Virginia Graduation

The University of Virginia announced Thursday that it is planning for at least some face-to-face classes when the fall term starts in late August on its campus in Charlottesville.

The state flagship university, with 24,000 students, had switched abruptly in March to online and remote instruction in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Its actions echoed those of colleges and universities across the country seeking to contain the spread of the deadly pathogen.

Now, the university and others are studying when and how to bring students back. U-Va. expects to provide final guidance by mid-June, with many logistical details unknown. But on Thursday it sent a note to the university community spelling out tentative plans for the campus known as the Grounds.

“Assuming state and federal public health guidelines allow, we are planning to have students back on Grounds and to hold in-person classes this fall,” U-Va. President James Ryan wrote in an email co-signed by other school officials. “We are still trying to determine how many students we can have safely back on Grounds and living in dorms, and how many in-person classes we can host, given social distancing restrictions.”

The email said classes would start on Aug. 25 as planned. Large classes will remain online throughout the semester, U-Va. said, as well as some classes taught by professors with health concerns. The university also put a time limit on face-to-face teaching.

“While the fall semester will start on time, we are planning to finish in-person instruction by Thanksgiving,” officials wrote. “Students will not return until the new year, which will minimize the inevitable risk associated with travel back and forth to Charlottesville. We are still determining if we can host exams before Thanksgiving or whether they will be offered remotely.”

Nick Anderson

Virus Outbreak Virginia

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Thursday announced that the entire state will remain under Phase 1 restrictions against the coronavirus for at least another week.

Northam, at his twice-weekly briefing on Capitol Square, spoke one day before Northern Virginia, Richmond and Accomack County join the rest of the commonwealth in Phase 1. Those hard-hit areas opted, with Northam’s support, to maintain stricter business and social standards for an extra two weeks.

Northam said it was too soon to move the rest of the state to Phase 2 because it was too soon to gauge, given the long incubation period for the coronavirus, whether the initial round of easing had led to more spreading.

“We will all remain in Phase 1 for a minimum of one more week,” he said.

Northam reminded Virginians that his order mandating the wearing of masks in public, indoor spaces takes effect Friday.“ If you shouldn’t go into a public space without shoes or a shirt, you shouldn’t go without face mask,” he said. “It’s just the right thing to do to protect the people around you as well as workers.”

Northam called on his chief counsel, Rita Davis, to clear up some of the confusion created after he announced the order two days earlier. The governor said on Tuesday that violations of the order would not be “a criminal matter,” but the order itself said it would be a misdemeanor.

Davis said that language refers to the standard enforcement mechanism for all public health orders, and has been used on all five that Northam has issued since the onset of the crisis. “It was not created specifically for Executive Order 63 and is not new,” she said.

She said the health department could enforce the order by seeking a civil injunction or criminal charge against an individual from a magistrate. But she said the department would do so only for “very egregious or gross violations. Not for one-offs.”

Davis said businesses are free to refuse service to customers who refuse to wear masks unless the refusal is based on a health condition that that would be exacerbated by wearing a mask. But businesses will not be held responsible for the actions of their customers, she said.

“This is a personal mandate on people as they go inside the businesses, not necessarily the businesses,” Davis said. “We do have facial covering requirements for employers under other executive orders that need to be done with respect to the employees, but this is simply geared at the people who are going to go inside those businesses and making sure that the employees are protected from the patrons as well.”

Northam, who was roundly criticized for mingling with visitors without a mask at the Virginia Beach boardwalk Saturday, said reopening there was going well enough that he will open the state’s other public beaches as of Friday.

“From what I saw, it worked very well,” he said. “As of tomorrow, other public beaches may open to recreational activities.”

Restrictions will apply, including bans on large gatherings, tents, group sports and alcohol. Northam also said he was allowing NASCAR to run single-day events, although they will not be open to spectators.

Laura Vozzella

Montgomery County will begin a phased reopening on Monday, June 1, joining other parts of Maryland in easing coronavirus restrictions.

Protesters calling for a quicker reopening interrupted Montgomery County officials repeatedly on Thursday, as they announced the lifting of restrictions.

The group of about a dozen protesters booed and hurled insults at Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D), calling him “fascist” and “a dictator.” For 20 minutes, the officials struggled to have their voices heard over the loud protesters, some of whom were wearing “Reopen Maryland” T-shirts and holding signs that read “free us.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) moved much of the state into the first phase of reopening on May 15, but Montgomery had opted out because of the heavy concentration of infections in the region.

Elrich has balked at pinpointing a specific reopening date for several weeks, arguing that he did not want “the date to become the story.”

On Thursday, he said that the county’s metrics appear to be trending in the right direction, which is why officials are ready to lift some restrictions. “The only reason we didn’t have a steep curve [in infections] is because of the actions we took,” he said.

Elrich’s executive order states that starting Monday, retail businesses can offer curbside pickup and restaurants can begin outdoor seating. The county’s Department of Transportation is working with local restaurants to identify streets that can be closed to provide more space for outdoor seating, Elrich said.

Montgomery is reopening in accordance to guidelines provided by the state, Elrich said. Childcare is open for children of essential employees, and outdoor day camps are allowed to restart with certain restrictions. Manufacturing is also allowed to resume. Hair salons and barbers can reopen but can only take in customers by appointment.

Montgomery County health officer Travis Gayles, who has been commended by lawmakers for his calm and measured leadership, was also met with boos on Thursday. He announced that the county is working with the state to launch an aggressive contact tracing effort starting this Friday.

Rebecca Tan

Reopen DC

Beginning Friday, communities across the Washington region <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-to-join-northern-virginia-in-reopening-friday-maryland-suburbs-to-follow/2020/05/27/ebd4cf8a-a035-11ea-81bb-c2f70f01034b_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_59">will shake loose</a> from some of the restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the novel <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_59">coronavirus</a>. But the new action plans released by each government vary in what locations and businesses will be opened, a reflection of how the virus has landed differently across the region.

Virginia, which started a limited reopening earlier this month, will extend the modified rules for businesses, churches, public recreation and other locations to the counties in suburban Washington beginning Friday. In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has left many decisions to local communities. Below is a chart of the rules around reopening in the region’s jurisdictions.

But first, what hasn’t changed: Social distancing measures still are required in the region. The District and Maryland require masks in indoor public spaces and on public transportation, and Virginia will be requiring masks to be worn in indoor public spaces beginning Friday. And public gatherings are still limited.

See <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/05/28/restrictions-loosen-heres-what-will-be-opening-dc-area/?itid=lk_inline_manual_62" target="_blank">the full story</a>.

Kyle Swenson

Margaret Locklear Lerner died during the coronavirus pandemic

Margaret Locklear Lerner was a Lumbee Indian, the ninth of 11 children of tenant farmers in Lumberton, North Carolina. She lost her parents to illness when she was a teen, put herself through college, got on the train for Washington, D.C., during World War II and ended up working for the National Security Agency as a communications analyst, with top-secret clearance.

Lerner died May 14 at the age of 97, a week after she was hospitalized and tested positive for the novel <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_66">coronavirus</a>.

To her many relatives from Robeson County, she was a hero and role model. She went back each year to spend time with family, staying with her sister, who kept a bedroom ready that everyone called Aunt Margaret’s room. Her 79-year-old niece, Olivia Schwartz, still has the brimmed-straw hat with ribbons to tie under her chin that Aunt Margaret had given her as a girl.

She remained involved with the affairs of her tribe. The Lumbee Indians are recognized by North Carolina but do not have full federal recognition, something that generations of Lumbees have worked unsuccessfully to change. Lerner’s daughter, Cindy Williams, remembers playing on the floor with her Barbies at the Bureau of Indian Affairs while her mother attended a meeting.

“Margaret was a very strong Lumbee,” said Tommy Schwartz, a nephew-in-law.

Read the full story <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/margaret-locklear-lerner-a-role-model-in-the-lumbee-indian-community-died-after-contracting-covid-19/2020/05/27/818b0808-9b74-11ea-ac72-3841fcc9b35f_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_70" target="_blank">here</a>.

Kathryn Tolbert

FILE PHOTO: Sen. Kaine leaves the U.S. Capitol after voting in Washington

Sen. Tim Kaine said Thursday that he and his wife, Anne, tested positive for covid-19 antibodies earlier this month, making the Virginia Democrat the second member of the Senate to have recovered from the novel coronavirus.

In a statement, Kaine said he had tested positive for the flu earlier this year and that he began experiencing new symptoms in late March. After his wife experienced symptoms including fever, chills, congestion and coughing, the two spoke with their doctors, who told them in early April that it was likely they'd had mild coronavirus cases, Kaine said.

Due to the national shortage of coronavirus tests, Kaine and his wife did not get tested for the virus, but they remained at home in Richmond “working remotely and isolated from others,” and by mid-April, they were symptom-free, he said.

In his statement, Kaine noted that he still plans to wear a mask because it is still unclear whether those who have recovered from coronavirus can pass the virus to others.

“We each tested positive for coronavirus antibodies this month,” Kaine said. “While those antibodies could make us less likely to be reinfected or infect others, there is still too much uncertainty over what protection antibodies may actually provide. So we will keep following CDC guidelines — hand-washing, mask wearing, social distancing. We encourage others to do so as well. It shows those around you that you care about them.”

In March, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rand-paul-becomes-first-senator-to-test-positive-for-coronavirus/2020/03/22/855a8512-6c67-11ea-a3ec-70d7479d83f0_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_78" target=_blank>became the first member</a> of the Senate to test positive for coronavirus. At the time, Paul weathered criticism because he did not self-isolate while awaiting the results of his test, instead continuing to work at the Capitol and even using the Senate gym.

Upon returning to the Senate earlier this month, Paul, an ophthalmologist, declined to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rand-paul-declines-to-wear-face-mask-during-senate-session-though-experts-are-uncertain-whether-recovered-patients-are-immune/2020/05/05/15546f86-8ef3-11ea-a0bc-4e9ad4866d21_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_79" target="_blank">wear a face mask</a>, even though experts remain uncertain as to whether recovered covid-19 patients are actually immune to the disease.

“I have immunity,” Paul told reporters at the Capitol. “I’ve already had the virus. So I can’t get it again, and I can’t give it to anybody.”

Felicia Sonmez

The District, Maryland and Virginia on Thursday reported more than 2,500 new cases of the coronavirus, as well as 101 additional deaths. That brought <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/local/dc-maryland-virginia-coronavirus-cases/?itid=lk_inline_manual_83" target=_blank>the number of positive cases</a> in the region to 99,602 and raised the death toll to 4,219.

Virginia saw 1,152 new cases for a total of 41,401. There were 57 new deaths reported Thursday, lifting its tally to 1,338. The number of deaths is the highest recorded in the state in a single day — the second-consecutive day of a record death toll, topping the 45 deaths announced Wednesday.

Maryland announced 1,286 new cases, lifting the state’s total to 49,709. In reporting 36 new deaths, the state has recorded 2,428 fatalities.

In Prince George’s County, there were 408 new cases, bringing the number to 14,508. The county had 10 new deaths for a total of 530. In Montgomery County, there were 285 new cases. That brought Montgomery’s total to 10,752 cases. Montgomery had nine new deaths, bringing its death toll to 581.

The District reported 86 new cases, bringing the city’s total to 8,492. Eight new fatalities were announced, for a total of 453.

The latest figures come as some parts of the D.C. region are starting to ease restrictions after two months of businesses shutting their doors under stay-at-home orders.

Dana Hedgpeth

Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) said Thursday that the county will begin gradually reopening June 1, when she will lift a stay-at-home order in the Washington suburb.

Prince George’s, which has the highest number of infections in the state at 14,508 coronavirus cases, said retail will open for curbside pickup, manufacturing will open with social distancing measures in place, and barbershops and hair salons can reopen by appointment, if customers and hairdressers wear masks. Alsobrooks said the county has met key metrics, including increased contact tracing and testing, decreased rates of new infections and new deaths and decreased hospital bed utilization.

New guidelines mandate that restaurants may open with outside seating only. No more than six people can sit at a table, and tables must be six feet apart. No more than 50 people total are allowed, and all employees must wear face masks.

Hogan

“We have not made this decision lightly,” Alsobrooks said at a news conference. “We must continue to be vigilant."

Alsobrooks said dramatic improvements in testing have been made in recent weeks and that about 9,000 tests are being conducted in the county weekly. By the end of the week, the county will also have 150 contact tracers, she said, after training some of its own staff.

Utilization of hospital bed space has declined, and about 40 percent of space is now available, she said.

County residents should continue to wear face coverings in public and stay home as much as possible, said Health Officer Ernest L. Carter.

“We are not going to go too fast,” Carter said. “Do not get complacent."

Alsobrooks also announced the creation of a coronavirus task force that will help the county move forward. The task force will focus on several areas of recovery, including health, education, social services, economic and government. It will be led by Charlene Dukes, president of the Prince George’s County Community College, and Bill Von Hoene, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Exelon.

Rachel Chason

With more restaurants and other businesses in the Washington region scheduled to reopen Friday, a local water utility is warning commercial building owners to run possibly stagnant water through their plumbing systems to flush out any serious contaminants.

Pipes in buildings closed for two months of stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns during the novel coronavirus outbreak can have stagnant water with bacterial growth, said the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which serves Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. That can include bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease and other serious illnesses, WSSC officials said.

A small building should have faucets, shower heads and other outlets run for 10 to 30 minutes with both hot and cold water, the utility said. A 40-gallon water heater would take about 45 minutes to fully flush.

WSSC Water bills to rise by 6 percent as utility offers more aid for financially struggling customers

Building owners should notify occupants not to use or drink water until flushing is complete. People who work in newly opened buildings also should thoroughly clean coffee makers or other water-using devices according to the manufacturer’s instructions, the utility said.

More details on how to flush pipes are available <a href="https://www.wsscwater.com/customer-service/emergency-sewerwater-problems/recommendations-for-non-resident.html" target=_blank>here</a>. Tips for finding plumbers licensed by WSSC Water who can assist are <a href="https://www.wsscwater.com/findplumber" target=_blank>here</a>.

Katherine Shaver

Coronavirus - Washington, DC

More than 96,000 unemployment claims were filed in the past week in the District, Maryland and Virginia, according to <a href="https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/ui-claims/20201122.pdf" target=_blank>figures released Thursday</a> by the Labor Department.

The 96,954 claims filed for the week ending May 23 were up slightly from 85,006 the prior week.

In the District, 5,123 jobless claims were filed, down from 5,196 the previous week.

In Maryland, 33,240 claims were filed, compared with 35,111 the previous week. In Virginia, there were 58,591claims filed, up from 44,699 the previous week.

More than 1.4 million jobless claims have been filed in the three jurisdictions since the coronavirus pandemic hit the region in March.

The pandemic has forced the shutdown of much of the economy over the past two months, and the region has been under stay-at-home orders. In the past week, parts of Maryland and Virginia have gradually lifted some restrictions, while the District and Northern Virginia <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-to-join-northern-virginia-in-reopening-friday-maryland-suburbs-to-follow/2020/05/27/ebd4cf8a-a035-11ea-81bb-c2f70f01034b_story.html?hpid=hp_local1-8-12_dmvlede-525pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&amp;itid=hp_rhp__local1-8-12_dmvlede-525pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&itid=lk_inline_manual_115" target="_blank">plan to ease some restrictions</a> Friday.

Nationally, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/28/unemployment-claims-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_116" target=_blank>2.1 million people filed jobless claims</a> in the past week, pushing the number of people in the United States who have filed claims in the past two months to more than 40 million.

CVS Health is opening three new coronavirus testing sites Friday in the District.

The openings are among those the company is announcing in more than 30 states this week to reach a goal of 1,000 testing locations by the end of May, CVS said in a news release.

The company will provide self-administered swab tests outside stores. Patients must register in advance on CVS’s website, then will be directed to a drive-through window, where they will be given a test kit and instructions. Results will be available in about three days, the company said.

“Opening access to testing in more locations using our drive-thru window represents an important milestone in our response to the pandemic,” Larry J. Merlo, chief executive of CVS Health, said in a statement.

The three testing sites will be at 845 Bladensburg Rd. NE, 6514 Georgia Ave. NW and 110 Carroll St. NW.

Steve Thompson

Dolores Guindon Gaffney, 95, died during the coronavirus pandemic

When Dolores Guindon Gaffney stepped off the train at the District’s Union Station in the summer of 1941, her life changed forever.

The daughter of a coal miner, Gaffney was one of the thousands of young women who flocked to Washington from across the country to help keep the government running during World War II, her family said. With men in short supply, Gaffney was a part of what Good Housekeeping called “a new army on the Potomac.”

These were the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1997/01/28/the-war-girls/f0db96bb-9cf7-482f-9c6d-d8cc57d7dbf1/?itid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_127">“government girls” — the “G-girls.”</a> Gaffney was just 17.

“That was pretty brave to be 17 and going to a place you’d never been before,” said a daughter, Diane Vagts.

Gaffney worked for the Department of the Navy, where she met her first husband, Francis Guindon. The couple married and had three children, Lynne, Diane and Marc.

A devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Gaffney died on April 17 of complications from covid-19 at a retirement community in Northern Virginia. She was 95.

See <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/former-government-girl-turned-beloved-grandmother-dies-of-covid-19/2020/05/26/f7b377b0-9163-11ea-a9c0-73b93422d691_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_131" target=_blank>the full story</a>.

Jessica Wolfrom

For more than three decades, Deirdre Taylor only knew the firefighter who saved her life through the grainy black-and-white photos on the<a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-rescue-reunion-nurse-firefighter-20200526-s77umpqpb5ajxkppwli7bfrtam-story.html"> front page of the New York Daily News</a>, on Dec. 30, 1983.

She was only 4 then, a blond, wide-eyed toddler pictured in the paper breathing from a resuscitator in the arms of the firefighter, Eugene Pugliese, who had just carried her out of her burning apartment building.

Taylor, now a registered nurse in Alexandria, kept the Daily News article tucked away in a keepsake binder for years. She wished as she got older that she could find Pugliese and thank him — a desire that intensified after she became an emergency room nurse, as she learned how rare it was to hear back from patients she encountered on the worst days of their lives.

But she hadn’t lived in New York since the fire, and didn’t know where to start. After 9/11, she feared the worst, that Pugliese could have been among the hundreds of firefighters who died in the World Trade Center attacks. She periodically searched his name on Google, finding nothing.

But finally, in March, Taylor thought she may have one last chance to find him.

With her family’s support, she decided to move from Virginia to New York for eight weeks to work in an overwhelmed Manhattan emergency room — trying to help save the lives of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_9&itid=lk_inline_manual_139">coronavirus</a> patients, while searching for the man who saved hers.

See <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/28/nurse-thanks-firefighter-new-york/?itid=lk_inline_manual_140" target=_blank>the full story</a>.

Meagan Flynn

BALTMAYOR

BALTIMORE — One mayoral candidate, a product of this long-beleaguered city, talks of witnessing his first shooting before he was 10 years old. The current mayor says he has lost three nephews to gun violence in recent years.

“We are a story of perpetual mourning,” says a third candidate hoping to lead Maryland’s largest city.

As much as any place in the country, Baltimore in recent years has careened between a barrage of crises — a devastating riot, corruption scandals and unceasing carnage that included, most recently, nine homicides over the long Memorial Day weekend.

Now, as a gaggle of candidates wrangle in Tuesday’s Democratic primary to become Baltimore’s next mayor, the coronavirus is causing a new wave of anguish for a city already managing rampant poverty, drug abuse and dysfunctional public schools.

While the White House warned in early April that Baltimore could become a coronavirus hot spot, the majority-black city has fared better than expected by at least one measure. As of Monday, the city’s per capita coronavirus-related deaths — 3.7 per 100,000 residents — was lower than the rates in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and the District.

See <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/weary-of-crime-crisis-and-corruption-baltimore-voters-choose-their-next-mayor/2020/05/27/1075bf28-9bab-11ea-a2b3-5c3f2d1586df_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_148" target=_blank>the full story</a>.

Paul Schwartzman

Leaders throughout the District, Maryland and Virginia have announced plans to begin gradually reopening or expand reopening plans by week’s end — though the specific approaches vary widely. To learn more about the details, read below:

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/05/08/dc-reopen-coronavirus-faq/">When will D.C. reopen, and how did officials decide?</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/05/08/maryland-reopen-coronavirus-faq/">What’s open in Maryland, and how did officials decide?</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/05/08/virginia-reopen-coronavirus-faq/">What is open in Virginia, what is the mask order, and how did officials decide?</a>

John Woodrow Cox

Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post's breaking news coverage of Virginia Tech shooting, 2008

Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post's investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, 2022

Rites of Burial

University of Notre Dame, BA in English and American Studies

Tom Jackman has been covering criminal justice for The Washington Post since 1998 and anchors the True Crime blog. He previously covered crime and courts for the Kansas City Star.

Gerald Loeb Award, Best Writing Category for "The Cost of Contracting" with Post colleague Robert O'Harrow Jr.

University of Maryland at College Park

Dana Hedgpeth is a Native American journalist who has been at The Washington Post for 25 years. She's an enrolled member of the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe of N.C. At The Post, she's covered a range of topics, including Native American history, Pentagon spending, the defense industry, the D.C. Metro's rail and bus systems, local governments, and courts.

Education Writers Association 2016 national award for beat reporting, large newsrooms

Stanford University, bachelor's degree in English

Nick Anderson covers higher education and other education topics for The Washington Post. He has been a writer and editor at The Post since 2005.

George Polk Award in 2014 for political reporting for investigation of relationship between Virginia governor and wealthy supporter

Laura Vozzella covers Virginia politics for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, she was a political columnist and food writer at the Baltimore Sun, and she has also worked for the Associated Press, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Hartford Courant.

Montgomery, Prince George’s will take steps to reopen June 1; more than 96,000 jobless claims filed last week in region

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