ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Nearly 49,000 more people filed for new unemployment claims last week in Maryland, the state’s labor department said Thursday.
The numbers push total unemployment claims to more than 656,000 in the last 10 weeks in Maryland.
Roughly 2.1 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the coronavirus outbreak intensified in March, though not all of them are still unemployed.
States are gradually restarting their economies by letting some businesses reopen with some restrictions. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday the state will allow outdoor dining at restaurants at 5 p.m. on Friday as the state moves to completing the first stage of its reopening plan. However, local officials will still be able to decide how far they want to go in implementing the state plan.
Residents have complained about difficulties navigating the state’s website to receive unemployment benefits for weeks.
Hogan attributed the problems to federal guidelines that have changed a dozen times and require people to refile every week. At a news conference Wednesday, Hogan said some people need help getting through the process, and he said the state has 250 extra people trying to help them.
“They have to talk to a live human being, not just somebody to answer the phone but a real professional that understands the complexities of the federal law and can help them, because otherwise they automatically get rejected,” Hogan said.
Meanwhile, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said the county will begin a modified stage one reopening Monday and allow a stay-at-home order that has remained in effect to expire.
Hogan announced Thursday morning that Maryland has now conducted 316,797 tests, including 16,354 in a 24-hour period. The governor’s office said the state’s COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped to 12.4% in Maryland, and the state now has nearly 100 testing sites statewide, including 13 new CVS Health drive-thru centers.
A new testing site opened Thursday at a Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program site in Clinton, Maryland. A new state testing site is scheduled to open Friday at Six Flags America in Prince George’s County.
Maryland reported that 49,709 cases have been confirmed overall in the state, up 1,286 from the day before. There have been 225,149 negative tests, up 11,517 since Wednesday. There have been 2,307 confirmed deaths due to the virus as of Thursday, up 37 from Wednesday.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up within weeks. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and be fatal.
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