Maryland leaders call for state of emergency for delta variant

The governor's office says Maryland is much better prepared to withstand the delta variant surge. This comes after Maryland House leaders urged Gov. Larry Hogan to either re-issue or issue another state of emergency for COVID-19. A letter signed by House Speaker Adrienne Jones and other leaders says, "Now is not the time to end the stated public health emergency, not only because of the limitations it will put on our state response, but also, because of the message that it sends to the public at large about the urgency of this situation, particularly as we prepare to send our children back to school." The governor lifted the state of emergency at the beginning of July; however, certain provisions are still under a 45-day grace period, which expires Sunday.