A Message from County Executive Marc Elirch

Dear Friends,

More and more people are getting vaccinated for COVID-19, which is great.

However, we are once again seeing an increase in cases and test positivity, and it is concerning. Our seven-day average case count per 100,000 residents is higher than it was in mid-June, and yet the State has lifted many restrictions.

In Montgomery County, our case and positivity rates have gone up 25 percent over the last three weeks.

Across the State, cases are going up. We are at levels that have surpassed the second wave in mid-summer and are at the same levels we were at the end of last October.

https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/

You can see that today, we are higher than we were during the “second wave”:

The variants have been found in Maryland and are likely contributing to this increase. We are also seeing hospital bed use rates for COVID cases beginning to rise.

While we take some comfort that our numbers are lower than most of the State and region, they are numbers that we considered unsafe back in the summer, and they are still unsafe now. New COVID-19 infections are increasing across the State and the country.

We are still in the midst of this pandemic. Please follow guidelines—wear a mask and please continue to maintain physical distance.

And testing continues to be very important. Last weekend, I visited ANGARAI's COVID Test Center (ACTC) in Silver Spring. I was impressed with its operation and grateful for its efforts. To see where you can get tested in Montgomery County, go to https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/testing.html.

The good news is that more and more people are getting vaccinated:

Please note: beginning this week, all residents 16-and-over can preregister to get a vaccine. Preregister on the County site at https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/. You can also preregister at the State site at https://onestop.md.gov/preregistration.

On a different note, I know that many of you have seen the video regarding a 5-year-old student and his interactions with the police. I want everyone to know that I – and all of us – take the incident extremely seriously. You can view my statement on this incident here. Even before I was elected, I was determined to work on issues of racial equity and on the role police in our community. We had money in our budget to allow for us to do a study, a complete study, that involved evaluating hiring and promotion policies, the training our officers receive, and review of police data from an equity perspective. Last year, I created and convened a community task force to begin this work, along with our consultants who are conducting a comprehensive audit of the Police Department that will guide our reimagining public safety efforts. We are nearing the end of that project, we will soon be receiving reports on training and on what our data shows and it will identify areas where we need to bring about change. 

Enjoy your holidays and the warm weather when it returns, but please keep following the guidelines. We are almost there and our continued restrictions will help save lives until we can get the vaccines out everywhere.

Sincerely,



Marc Elrich

County Executive

Message from County Executive Marc Elrich

Dear Friends:

We are going to overcome the COVID-19 health crisis that has gripped our lives for almost a year. And the best way to do this is by staying informed and exercising some patience.

Many of us are eager to be vaccinated as soon as possible. As I think you are well aware, the number of people eligible is much greater than the number of vaccines available.

We have all seen stories of people who want appointments and cannot get them because of the limited doses. Unfortunately, we have also seen stories of people who are becoming overly stressed because the lack of vaccine doses has left them endlessly frustrated.

I ask everyone to remain patient. We are going to get there, but it will take some time.

More than 94,000 Montgomery residents have received their first vaccine, about nine percent of our County population. Just about everyone knows people who have received vaccinations because they are in Priority Group 1A (primarily frontline workers), Group 1B (which includes those 75 and over and educators) and Group 1C (including those 65 and over).

Be patient. Your turn is coming. The priority groupings that we are following, how you can preregister for appointments and where shots are being distributed can be found at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/.

The Biden Administration has said that it will be receiving greatly increased number of vaccines starting next week. So I am hopeful that the number of doses coming to Montgomery County will increase. We are ready to administer additional vaccines as soon as they arrive.

If you are seeking vaccine appointments, you can check multiple sites. I know it can be discouraging. You can keep checking and you can put your name on several websites, including at the County site.

You can also receive updates from the County by signing up here.

In some positive news, our efforts to get control of the virus have been making inroads. As of today, our seven-day average of new positive cases per 100,000 was 18.7. That is a drop by more than half since our high in January when it was almost 50 new cases per 100,000. The number of positive cases among those being tested in our County has decreased to 4.8 percent on a 14-day average. In January, it was eight percent.

Because the transmission rates have been reduced, I have issued, and the County Council has approved, Executive Order 19-21AM to allow restaurants to resume indoor seating at 25 percent capacity starting Sunday, Feb. 14. I understand how tough these times have been on our restaurants and their employees. We are taking a cautious reopening stance to balance the opportunity for some indoor dining with the need to protect the public health.

Additionally, the Board of Education has announced a reopening plan for students. You can read more about it here.

To all who celebrate the Lunar New Year starting tomorrow, I want to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. And to all, lets use Valentines Day as a reminder to show our love for our family, friends and neighbors by continuing to maintain physical distance, wash hands frequently and MaskUpMoco.

Let’s continue to work together to get through the frustration and difficulties. We are finding a path out, but it will continue to take time. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.



Marc Elrich
County Executive

County Health Officer Travis Gayles to Discuss Deeper Aspects of COVID-19 as The Featured Guest on Montgomery College ‘Presidential Dialogue Series’ on Thursday, Jan. 28

Montgomery County Health Officer Travis Gayles, who has been at the forefront of the County’s response to the COVID-19 health crisis, will be the featured guest at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28, on the next episode of the Montgomery College video “Presidential Dialogue Series.” He will discuss the County’s actions during the health crisis with Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard. 

The event will be streamed here: http://bit.ly/mc-presidential-dialogue-ce. Viewers can submit questions that may be asked during the broadcast by emailing them by Monday, Jan. 25, to presidentialdialogue@montgomerycollege.edu

Dr. Gayles has been delivering urgent messages to the community about transmission, treatment and vaccinations since the health crisis started in March 2020. 

The pandemic has drawn renewed attention to health disparities in the nation. While African Americans are only 30 percent of the population of Maryland, they make up 50 percent of COVID fatalities.

Vulnerability to infectious diseases often correlates with social variables such as income inequality, access to affordable health care, housing and transportation. COVID-19 has demonstrated how race and immigration impact disease transmission, progression and outcomes.

Dr. Gayles, a medical doctor who also holds a Ph.D. in Community Health, will address how the County has made decisions about health protocols, communicating them to diverse communities and strategizing about how support for basic needs will mitigate infections.

This year’s Presidential Dialogue Series focuses on how to build racial justice in a multicultural society.

Previous guests on the Presidential Dialogue Series have included Congressman David Trone, Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones, University of Maryland-Baltimore County President Freeman A. Hrabowski III, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, political consultant Neera Tanden and authors Elaine Weiss and Elsa Barkley Brown.