Governor Hogan announced the formation of the nation’s first statewide Asian American Hate Crimes Workgroup, which will recommend specific actions to address the rise in violence and discrimination targeting the Asian American community. This effort will be led by former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert Hur.

Last month, Governor Hogan penned an op-ed in The Atlantic urging leaders across the country to forcefully denounce the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and recommending steps Congress could take to protect these communities. Yumi Hogan – the first Korean American first lady in US history – also wrote a CNN op-ed telling her story of pursuing the American dream and advocating for greater protections for victims of hate crimes.

Even before the formation of this workgroup, Governor Hogan has already taken action on this issue, including directing state and local law enforcement agencies to increase enhanced visibility patrols, issuing awareness bulletins to help ensure the safety of Asian-owned businesses, and launching a campaign to encourage victims and witnesses to report incidents to Maryland’s hate crimes hotline.

Watch Governor Hogan’s Press Conference Here

A new study from the University of California, Berkeley ranks Maryland’s COVID-19 response as among the “most effective” in the nation.

Thanks to Governor Hogan’s decisive and balanced approach to the pandemic, Maryland’s health metrics fared better than most other states, even when compared to many states that imposed stricter and more onerous mandates.

This new finding comes as Maryland has opened up vaccine eligibility to all Marylanders above the age of 16. As of today, Maryland providers have administered over 3.1 million COVID-19 vaccines and are averaging 60,885 shots per day, while 77.5% of Marylanders 65 and older have already received a shot.

Governor Hogan announced that all Marylanders above the age of 16 will be eligible to receive a vaccine by April 12th. This is over two weeks ahead of the previous target date of April 27th.

The accelerated timeline comes as Maryland has reached several major milestones in its vaccination campaign, including administering 75,000 vaccines in one day. Overall, Maryland has administered over 3 million vaccines and vaccinated over 76% of Marylanders over the age of 65.

Watch Governor Hogan’s Press Conference Here