Frustrated by the Trump administration’s lack of progress in developing COVID-19 testing, as well as the president’s claims of broad availability of coronavirus testing, Maryland’s Larry Hogan and other governors spoke out over the weekend.

“It’s not accurate to say there’s plenty of testing out there, and the governors should just get it done,” Hogan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “That’s just not being straightforward.”

Hogan added that it was “absolutely false” to claim that governors were not acting aggressively enough to pursue as much testing as possible.

At a press conference Monday afternoon in Annapolis, Hogan announced that the state had secured 5,000 test kits from South Korea—which officials said would give Maryland the ability to perform 500,000 new coronavirus tests. The Korean Air flight arrived at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Saturday, Hogan said, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other agencies signed off on the plan and shipment.

To date, Maryland has conducted more than 71,000 tests for the novel coronavirus. Nearly 14,000 confirmed infections have been recorded in the state, including more than 854 confirmed new cases in the last 24 hours. More than 3,000 people have been hospitalized in the state so far because of the COVID-19 virus. There are also now more than 500 confirmed deaths in Maryland from the virus and almost 70 other probable deaths.

The South Korean coronavirus tests come from a company based there called LabGenomics at a cost of $9 million to Maryland. In his remarks, Hogan said it was a small amount for the state to pay, relative to an estimated $2.8 billion in lost revenues as the state remains largely shut down in an effort to contain the virus.

Hogan also said that the shipment does not mean that Maryland suddenly has the ability to perform 500,000 tests. “We don’t have everything [else] we need,” Hogan said, noting a shortage of lab equipment, as well as the swabs and chemical re-agents required to successfully perform the tests. “Some [of those things] have been acquired. It will take time to ramp up everything we need to utilize all of the tests.”

Hogan said that is Korean-born wife, Yumi Hogan, was involved in getting the negotiation process started, adding that his team had been at work since late March on the effort he nicknamed, “Operation Enduring Friendship.” It was the first-ever direct freight flight from Incheon Airport to BWI. Yumi Hogan is the first Korean-American first lady of any state and the first Asian-American first lady in Maryland.

The new tests will indicate whether an individual currently is infected with the virus. Other equally important tests that indicate whether a person has had the coronavirus and successfully recovered—and is therefore protected by anti-bodies against further infection—remain elusive. A vaccine for COVID-19 likely remains many months away.

Last week, Hogan announced Maryland schools will remain closed through May 15. Most states, including Ohio, have already said they will not reopen this year.

Hogan has stressed that adequate availability testing is critical to reopening the state and the Maryland economy. He said last Friday that the state would not reopen until it at least triples daily testing capacity, greater hospital capacity is in place, adequate levels of personal protective equipment is on hand for frontline health care workers, and the state is able to deploy sufficient numbers of contact-tracing workers to track and help isolate newly infected patients.

On Saturday, at least 200 protestors in Annapolis caravanned around State Circle, demanding the governor lift restrictions on public gatherings and reopen Maryland businesses. That same morning, the capital region recorded 73 additional new deaths, pushing the number fatalities to close to 1,000 in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. Similar protests, encouraged by President Trump on Twitter, have been taking place around the country and continued Monday with more than 2,000 demonstrators at the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg.

Prince George’s and Montgomery counties lead the state in coronavirus cases, with 3,583 and 2,647 cases, respectively. Baltimore County has reported 1,875 cases and Baltimore City—1,511. African-Americans continue to make up the largest racial/ethnic group in terms of COVID-19 deaths in the state. By zip code, the area with the greatest total—269 cases of coronavirus—is in the in 21215, which includes parts of northwest Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The zip code includes the FutureCare Lochearn nursing home where at least 170 people, 129 residents and 41 staffers, have been confirmed with the virus, according to reporting from WBAL-TV.

Former Baltimore City health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, a leading public health expert, essentially agreed with Hogan last week, stating the U.S. still needs a national coordinated effort to secure personal protection equipment for healthcare workers, ramp up testing, and build public health infrastructure before it’s safe to fully reopen the economy.

“But it seems we are doing this backwards because we shouldn’t be talking about a timeline as much as we should be talking about metrics and capabilities, including the number of tests that can be made widely available [and] the public health infrastructure needed to able to identity individuals who test positive and trace their contacts,” Wen told CNN. “And the healthcare infrastructure overall to be able to treat people and not be rationing resources all the time. We are nowhere near having these capabilities in place.”

After a year of travel restrictions due to COVID-19, it’s time to take a summer vacation. But you can’t jet-set away without hearty food to sustain you throughout your journey, and Baltimore Washington Thurgood-Marshall International Airport (BWI) plays host to numerous food and drink options—whether you’re in the mood for a locally brewed IPA, a Baltimore-inspired sushi roll, or a simple burger.

Whether you’re in need of a quick bite or searching for a spot to kill time during a layover, we’ve broken down our picks for the top spots to hit while passing through BWI this summer.

Burger Joints

BGR
Tapas and sushi are all well and good, but nothing satisfies hunger quite like a hearty burger. This homegrown chain—with locations scattered everywhere from Columbia to Annapolis—keeps it simple, layering juicy patties with customizable toppings including sautéed mushrooms, grilled pineapple, fried eggs, and applewood-smoked bacon. You can’t go wrong pairing your burger with an order of garlic fries, and adding a classic chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry shake for good measure. Where to find it: The purple storefront is in Concourse B after security. 410-859-1900

Silver Diner
Complete with jukeboxes, neon lighting, tiled floors, and comfy booth seating, this old-school standby is an ideal choice for fueling up for a flight. Make your way up to the counter to order a breakfast platter, triple-decker sandwich, or a round of all-American sliders. While the menu lists plenty of classics, the Rockville-based restaurant has also kept up with the times with organic bison and veggie burgers, as well as colorful salads and a selection of vegan entrees. Where to find it: You can’t miss the striking silver exterior, located just off of the main terminal in the food court in Concourse B. 410-694-0990

Local Comforts

Miss Shirley’s 
What began as a 42-seat breakfast-and-lunch spot in Roland Park has now become a fan-favorite cafe chain with locations all over town, including a new outpost at BWI. If you’re looking for Southern cuisine with a touch of Maryland flair, check out specialities such as fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, and coconut-cream stuffed French toast. Where to find it: Look for the orange-and-black oven mitt logo in Concourse A.

Nalley Fresh
If you’re looking for something light to hold you over before you fly, this homegrown cafe has you covered. Choose from a menu of salads, bowls, and wraps, or customize your own with different proteins an array of 80 colorful veggies and toppings. Where to find it: Look out for the green-and-white signage at the food court in Concourse A after security.

Craft Beer Concepts

DuClaw Brewing Co.
Though this veteran Baltimore brewery decided to downsize its restaurant footprint a few years back, its BWI brewpub is still going strong—serving grub like wings, burgers, nachos, flatbreads, and crab pretzels. Enjoy all of the eats while sipping DuClaw favorites including the Sweet Baby Jesus peanut butter porter, Hellrazer IPA, and Misfit Red amber ale. Where to find it: Spot the massive illuminated DuClaw logo overhead while strolling toward Concourse B. 410-845-4846

Flying Dog Tap House
Speaking of pioneering local breweries, this Frederick favorite debuted its first restaurant inside of the airport in 2017. In partnership with Monkton-based Roseda Farm beef, the restaurant will feature Flying Dog releases on tap (think Raging Bitch IPA, Numero Uno Agave Cerveza, Bloodline Blood Orange ale, and the like), as well as dishes that fuse both brands. Be on the lookout for options like a beef hot dog with Doggie Style Pale Ale beer cheese, and sliders with garlic aioli made with Snake Dog IPA. Where to find it: The new wood-stained storefront sits just past the food court in Concourse A.

International Eats

The Firkin & Flyer
Thanks to this funky spot, passengers traveling to Europe can experience their destination before even leaving the airport. The British pub highlights authentic eats like fish and chips, beef and stout stew, and bangers and mash, along with plenty of American options including burgers and wraps. The beer lineup is equally expansive, highlighting everything from local brews to traditional British ales. Where to find it: Keep an eye out for the Union Jack flags just off of the main terminal in the Concourse B/C connector. 410-582-8308

Zona Cocina
Start things off with a strong margarita and an order of chips and salsa at this Latin American-inspired cantina. Aside from a list of colorful cocktails, the restaurant offers Southwest salads, burritos, sizzling fajitas, and fish tacos. Where to find it: Zona is stationed directly next to Silver Diner on Concourse B. 410-850-4846

Pizza Palaces

Tony + Benny’s Pizza
Get a little taste of Brooklyn by way of BWI at this old-school Italian concept. Inspired by Old World recipes, the menu lists signature slices, stromboli, salads, and pastas, as well as its own case of grab-and-go items if you’re in a hurry. Where to find it: The quick-service spot, which debuted earlier this year, sits in Concourse A just past the Gachi Sushi kiosk and Potbelly Sandwich Shop. 410-553-4346

Seafood Spots

Gachi Sushi
Snag a stool at this trendy sushi bar to watch chefs prepare pretty plates ranging from salads and shumai to tuna carpaccio and steamed mussels. Alongside classics like California and Philadelphia rolls, the menu lists its own odes to Charm City—including the Orioles Roll (shrimp, avocado, creamy crab meat, caviar, and eel sauce) and the Chesapeake Roll topped with Maryland crab dip. Where to find it: Gachi operates a bar in Concourse A, and has its own grab-and-go kiosk with packaged rolls in Concourse B. 410-859-4285

Obrycki’s
Nothing says Bawlmer like this 73-year-old crab cake institution. Though Obrycki’s eventually outgrew its Fells Point flagship, the legacy lives on at BWI. The sit-down spot features classics including shrimp salad sandwiches, Old Bay wings, and, of course, jumbo-lump crab cakes. If you’re in need of a pick-me-up, swing by the bar to down drafts, or enjoy signature cocktails like a rye old-fashioned and citrus cosmopolitan. Where to find it: Obrycki’s Restaurant sits between gates seven and nine in Concourse B.  410-859-5723

R&R Seafood
In 2017, the Obrycki’s team also unveiled this sister-spot featuring sustainable seafood and local raw bar offerings. It is yet another spot to get your hands on the family’s famous crab cakes, but the new bar also highlights fresh-shucked oysters, little neck clams, and steamed-seasoned shrimp. Where to find it: The seafood bar can be found in Concourse D/E connector next to Starbucks and Concourse A between gates A12 and A13. 443-883-3752

Wine Bars

Brix & Vine
Whether you’re waiting out a layover, or experiencing the dreaded delay, this new bar has you covered with an international wine list and expert servers to guide you through the sampling process. Sip selections from regions as far as South Africa and New Zealand while snacking on salads, steaks, and specialty sandwiches. Where to find it: Head to Concourse D after going through security to find the brick façade adorned with plenty of decorative wine bottles. 410-834-7256

Vino Volo
Wheel your carry-on into this sleek fine-dining den, which offers a lengthy selection of worldly wines by the glass, flight, or bottle. The bar pairs all of the vino with sophisticated snacks including charcuterie platters, burrata, smoked salmon crostini, beet salads, and lamb meatballs. Where to find it: Curve around the food court in Concourse A to snag a window seat with views overlooking the runway. 410-691-2215

 

Additional reporting by Emily Williams

What’s BWI’s position in the industry?
We’re the 22nd busiest airport in the country, and that’s out of over 500 commercial airports. Last year, we had a record-breaking year with almost 24 million passengers flying out of BWI, and about 1.1 million of those were international passengers—that was also a record. This year is following suit. So we’ve become more than just a regional airport. We’re the busiest airport in the Washington-Baltimore area. We’re outpacing both Dulles and [Reagan] National in terms of passengers.

Is the growth due to the proliferation of low-cost international carriers?
Exactly. WOW Air, Condor, Southwest Airlines emerging into the international market. Our plan is to continue our position as the low-fare option for this region.

What do you think is the most exotic destination that people can get to from BWI?
We have several. Look at Southwest’s service to Latin America, or anytime you can take a flight [via Norwegian Air Shuttle] to Martinique. I think that’s a pretty exotic place. But, if you want to fly nonstop to Reykjavik [via WOW Air], I mean, that’s a pretty neat place to go to as well.

What about commercial service to Cuba?
I don’t see that happening in the near future. We just had a scheduled charter service to Cuba that didn’t go very well. So we decided to step back, regroup. We’re looking for the right carrier to re-launch that service.

Do you get to go to these places when you’re recruiting business for BWI?
That’s not something I get to do. We do have a personalized air service team who occasionally have to go and kind of kick the tires [of a new partner airport] and get a chance to go to someplace like Costa Rica just to see what it feels like. That’s not a bad job.

Recently, BWI has had local musicians play concerts at baggage claim. What’s that about?
Over the years, we’ve learned that, although people come to the airport to fly, they want to feel a sense of place when they get here. So art in many forms—musical, static, or digital art—that gives the customer something to escape from the angst that comes with rushing through an airport.

What other new projects can travelers expect?
Airports are always under construction because we’re in such a dynamic environment. Today, to try to keep track with Southwest Airlines’ growth—and a number of other carriers—we have to add additional capacity. And so we have our Concourse D and Concourse E Connector. That project will introduce additional gates to accommodate both domestic and some international service. It will also allow us to introduce more food and retail concepts. That should open initially later this year and be completed totally sometime early next year. We also have an expansion to our Concourse E facility. That’s our international facility. We’re adding six gates to that facility to accommodate international service.

Speaking of food and retail, what have customers been demanding? More local food options? More high-end options?
A lot of our customers want local options. People who are coming in from out of town, they want to feel Baltimore and Washington when they come in. People that live in this area, they want to see the taste of their community in the airport, but there’s also a significant segment of the population that wants to see brands that they’re familiar with—so Chick-fil-A, those kinds of brands, we’re planning very soon to bring online. They want healthy options. That’s a growing demand. We try to understand what they want, and we do our best to go out and try to find operates that can bring those concepts here.

BWI airport serves two very distinct metro areas, how do you balance representing both of them?
Generally, our surveys include all of our passengers—D.C. passengers, passenger from the Baltimore metropolitan area, and even passengers from southern Pennsylvania. They are all part of one general survey, so we look at consensus. And that consensus reflects what flyers from all of those populations tend to want. I don’t know that there’s a difference between what someone in D.C. might want as opposed to what somebody in Baltimore might want. So we haven’t had an issue with that. But we do try to make sure, however, that Baltimore-Washington [BWI] reflects D.C. because that’s a battleground market for us. And to the extent that we can have passengers in the Washington metropolitan area feel more comfortable with BWI Marshall, then that makes us a more attractive option for those flyers.

Where were you before you came to BWI?
I started in BWI back in 1990 as the budget manager. I spent a few years there then I bounced around, spent some time in operations, overseeing planning and engineering and marketing, and then I left for a year and a half or so and became the deputy administrator for the Maryland Highway Administration. I stayed there for a couple years then I returned to BWI for about two years when the opportunity to go to Cleveland emerged back in 2006. So I left BWI, went to Cleveland as the CEO there, stayed there for nine years until August of last year and then Governor Hogan asked if I would return home to BWI, and it’s probably one of the most exciting decisions I’ve made in my life.

So are you from Baltimore originally?
Yes, I actually grew up on Whitelock Street, not far from the area where the unrest occurred, Penn North. I went to Baltimore City Public Schools, graduated from Howard University in D.C., went to Loyola University of Maryland in Baltimore. So yes, I am. Baltimore is home.