Maryland Governor Larry Hogan last week praised Montgomery
County’s efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This week,
he announced that he was expanding the statewide face covering
requirement so that it essentially mirrors the requirement we have had in
our County. Starting Friday, face coverings will be required inside all
public spaces and outside whenever physical distancing is not possible.
I appreciate the Governor’s recognition of the importance of
wearing face coverings and I am pleased that it will now be a statewide
requirement. The Governor expressed concern about the spread of COVID-19
in other states, explained the need to pause before any additional
statewide reopenings are allowed and highlighted the progress that we
have made in Montgomery County since the beginning of this health crisis.
Still, all safety requirements are not the same in the State and the
County. In Montgomery, gatherings are limited to a maximum of 50 people
(with face coverings and physical distancing required)—but I
encourage you to keep the number of people together as small as possible.
The Governor pointed out that contact tracing has shown that gatherings
have been a significant source of transmission.
While we are in a better place than we were in April, we
must continue what so many of you have been doing. Wearing face
coverings, keeping social distancing and washing hands are all strong
measures—and they are only effective when followed.
Montgomery County Public Schools last week announced that in
the upcoming school year, classes would be online for the entire first
semester. While I was not directly involved in that decision, I do
support it. I offered my advice to the schools that I thought it was
necessary to keep the schools online for the fall because the risks
otherwise were too great. I realize that it is difficult for many parents
and children, and all of us are searching for creative ways to help our
families continue to learn and thrive as we work to contain this virus.
I also wanted you to know that earlier this month, the
County’s AAA bond rating was reaffirmed by the three major Wall Street
financial rating agencies. With all of the economic challenges we have
faced this year as a result of COVID-19, I am pleased that we have once
again received the highest rating possible from all three agencies. Long
before the health crisis, we remained focused on setting clear priorities
and finding innovative ways to improve government operations. This news
shows that the rating agencies understand we are making our government
more efficient and stronger for the long term. During these difficult
times, we will continue to be good stewards of County finances as we
navigate our way through recovery.
We are also working to help our County residents who have been
hit so hard by the impact of COVID-19. I appreciate the County
Council’s approval this week of my proposal to provide $20 million from
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to expand the County’s rental
assistance program to help prevent eviction and homelessness. As scary as
looming COVID-19 can be, having no place to live is also terrifying. We
do not have a vaccine for the virus yet, but we are taking measures to
help mitigate the effects of it.
We are also helping our businesses that have suffered
through months of lost businesses and now are hit again with the costs in
trying to reopen under our Phase 2 guidelines. Small businesses are able
to apply for grants from the “Reopen Montgomery” Small Business Grant
Program. More information about the program is available at montgomerycountymd.gov/biz-resources/reopen/
Other information, including details on COVID-19 testing
sites, also is below. I hope you are able to find time to enjoy the
summer while also strictly adhering to the safety guidelines.
Marc Elrich, County
Executive
COVID-19 Test
Sites in County Will Include Four New Popup Sites Over the Next Week
There are 40 sites in Montgomery County where residents can
get tested for COVID-19, including three County-operated sites. In
addition, over the next week the County will make testing available at
four popup sites—two in Silver Spring, one in Germantown and the other in
Rockville.
The popup test sites scheduled:
Friday,
July 31. 8 a.m.-noon. Mid-County Recreation Center. 2400 Queensguard
Rd. in Silver Spring.
Saturday,
Aug. 2-6 p.m. Rockville United Church. 355 Linthicum St. in
Rockville.
Monday,
Aug. 3. 8 a.m.-noon. PlumGar Recreation Center. 19561 Scenery Dr. in
Germantown.
Tuesday,
Aug. 4. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Mount Jezreel Baptist Church. 420 University
Blvd. East in Silver Spring.
Appointments are recommended for the County-operated sites
to reduce wait times, but walkups are available. At the County-operated
sites, a doctor’s order is not required and no symptoms need to be
evident to get a test. Those tests are free.
There may be fees at some of the 37 sites not operated by the
County and some require special arrangements in advance.
The County-operated test sites are in Germantown, Wheaton
and White Oak. Times and locations sometimes change on days with
excessive heat so residents should check the testing website for potential
changes on those days. Popup testing clinics are located in different
parts of the County.
Appointments can be made online at www.MoCoCOVIDTesting.org or by calling
the Testing Helpline at 240-777-1755. The line is open seven days a week
from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those considering tests should reconfirm the
details.
The County-operated sites use saliva tests that are easier
and faster.
County Executive
Elrich’s Request for $20 Million for Additional Renters Relief Approved
by Council
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich’s request for
appropriately $20 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security (CARES) Act to expand rental assistance
for eviction and homelessness prevention was approved on July 28 by the
County Council. The funds will expand the County’s eviction and homelessness
prevention programs, including the COVID Rent Relief program administered
by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), an effort
originally spearheaded by Councilmember Evan Glass.
“This will provide much-needed, additional support for the people
of Montgomery County,” said County Executive Elrich. “Now that the
courts have lifted the stay on evictions, we want to be prepared for the
hearings of rental nonpayment cases that will likely take place after
Aug. 31. It is imperative that we use our resources to support tenants
during these difficult times and this funding will enable us to assist
renters in working with landlords to avoid eviction. I recognize that $20
million is not the full amount we will need, but it represents a
significant investment that will be needed to address
this challenge.”
The County received funding from the Coronavirus Relief Fund
to address emergency needs from the impact of COVID-19. DHHS’s “Services
to End and Prevent Homelessness” programs will use the funds to provide
financial assistance to prevent eviction and end homelessness. The
programs evaluate communities experiencing disproportionate impacts of
COVID-19, prioritizing households determined to be at the greatest risk
of eviction and loss of housing. Research has shown that low-income women
of color are most at risk of eviction.
‘Reopen
Montgomery’ Small Business Grant Program Launched; Businesses Can Submit
Online Applications for Reopening Assistance Grants
The “Reopen Montgomery” Small Business Grant Program, a $14
million program which was created by the Montgomery County Council with
the support of County Executive Marc Elrich, is now accepting
applications from businesses for grants that could be as much as $5,000.
Businesses and nonprofit organizations may be eligible for
grants for reopening expenditures they have incurred, or will incur,
related to health and safety requirements from the State and County for
reopening between March 16, 2020, and 30 days following the date when the
County starts Phase 3 reopening. The County is still operating under
Phase 2 reopening guidelines.
County Officials
Close One Business, Issue Warnings to Others for Not Complying with
COVID-19 Restrictions
Montgomery County Health and Human Services and Alcohol
Beverage Services inspectors have continued to respond to, and
investigate, reports that some local businesses are not following Phase 2
reopening requirements. During inspections performed over the past week,
one business was closed for not complying with COVID-19 requirements for
reopening. In addition, two businesses received $500 citations for
noncompliance.
Since early July, inspectors have made more than 2,000
visits to establishments in the major entertainment areas of Bethesda,
North Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Rockville and Silver Spring to provide
information about the safety requirements. Inspections also have been
performed to follow up on complaints from residents and patrons.
The Republic Garden, located at 8402 Georgia Ave. in Silver
Spring, was issued a 30-day closure order on July 26 for patrons not
maintaining the minimum six-foot physical distancing requirements. The
establishment’s license was previously suspended on July 12 for not
maintaining adequate physical distancing.
The Block, located at 967 Rose Ave. in the Pike & Rose
section of North Bethesda, was issued a $500 civil citation for not
maintaining the minimum physical distancing requirements and its license
was suspended. Two weeks ago, it was issued a $500 civil citation for the
same violation.
Lancaster County Meats, located within the Lancaster County
Dutch Market at 12613 Wisteria Dr. in Germantown, on July 24 was issued a
$500 civil citation and its license was suspended for failure to require
employees to wear a face covering.
Lone Oak Farm Brewing, located at 5000 Olney-Laytonsville
Road in Olney, on July 24 was reminded that Executive Order MDH 2020-06-12-01 issued
by the Maryland Department of Health prohibits live music performances.
It also was reminded of the provisions of Montgomery County Executive Order 082-20 (indoor
and outdoor gatherings) and Section 5 (large gatherings). The facility
was ordered to stop serving food without the proper food service facility
license.
‘Rapid Response
Teams’ Provide Testing and HHS Assessments to Households in Neighborhoods
Impacted by COVID-19
The “Rapid Response Teams” of the Montgomery
County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) are
providing home-based COVID-19 testing and health/human services
assessments to households located in zip codes highly impacted by
the virus. The special teams program, made possible through a contract
with Ready
Responders, quickly gets to those who face significant
barriers to accessing community test sites. The program also seeks to
serve those who have household situations where testing at home
would be more effective than going to a community test site.
The no-cost visits are being provided seven days a week. A
response team includes a health worker and a human services worker.
Team members provide temperature checks, monitor vital signs and give
COVID-19 saliva tests to all household members who give consent.
A DHHS service navigator follows up after a visit as
needed. Emergency or urgent medical care and human services referrals
are provided at the time of the visit. Those services could include
calling 911 for a medical emergency, providing emergency food referrals
or offering immediate referral to temporary hotel shelter for household
members who are ill and cannot effectively isolate at home.
Bilingual staff can visit or staff will have access to the
County’s language line to help with interpreting.
Geographic areas most impacted by COVID-19 in Montgomery
County include zip codes 20850, 20866, 20877, 20901, 20902, 20903,
20906 and 20910.
County’s Animal
Adoption Center Reopening for Adoptions on Thursday, Aug. 6
Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center
(MCASAC), located at 7315 Muncaster Mill Road in Derwood, will reopen its
facility to the public for animal adoptions on Thursday, Aug. 6. The
event will kick off MCASAC’s participation in NBC/Telemundo’s nationwide “Clear the
Shelters” adoption event.
Adoption fees will be discounted by 50 percent throughout
August. Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, adoptions will take place by
appointment only. Face coverings and human social distancing are
required. Interested residents can visit MCASAC’s
website for more information on appointment scheduling
and to view available animals. Standard adoption requirements and
policies apply.
Although the facility has been closed for public access,
Animal Services staff members have continued providing frontline animal
services since the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency.
Alcohol Beverage
Services Reopens Its Darnestown Liquor and Wine
Montgomery
County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) reopened its Darnestown Liquor
and Wine store on July 27. The store, located at 12155 Darnestown Road
in Gaithersburg, was closed for three weeks after several employees
tested positive for COVID-19.
The number of employees in quarantine caused staffing
shortages, which forced ABS to close the store. During the closure, a
specialized unit performed a deep cleaning and sanitization of the
store, which included cleaning all surfaces and products and fogging
with specialized machines.
Since the health crisis began, ABS has been deep cleaning
all of its stores. Daily temperature checks are conducted of each
employee and they are following enhanced cleaning protocols for high
touch surfaces. In addition, plexiglass has been installed at the
registers in each store to create a barrier between consumers and
employees. ABS also has implemented policies requiring employees to
wash their hands hourly and to use hand sanitizer between transactions.
Face coverings and social distancing of at least six feet are required
for customers and employees.
Results of County
Survey on Masks Show Improper and Ineffective Use
More than 2,700 people responded to a recent Montgomery
County flash survey on masks, and while an overwhelming majority of
respondents (91 percent) think wearing a mask is “very important to slow
down the spread of COVID-19,” 78 percent of respondents also reported
seeing many people wearing masks improperly, such as exposing the nose.
The short survey, conducted via Survey Monkey earlier this
month, included five questions and was shared through the County’s
Facebook and Twitter accounts, WhatsApp and Nextdoor.
More than half the respondents (61 percent) said they saw
people wear masks inside buildings and outside where social distancing is
not possible and they would like to see more people comply.
When asked to describe how people were wearing masks
improperly, 66 percent of respondents said they have observed others
wearing masks covering only their mouth and chin. Respondents said most
mask violations were observed at local businesses (39 percent) and parks,
trails and playgrounds (34 percent).
Public Libraries
to Implement New Service Hours Starting Sunday, Aug. 2
Montgomery County Public Libraries will
implement new service hours, effective Sunday, Aug. 2. The library
buildings remain closed under County's Phase 2 reopening guidelines, but
the libraries are providing services such as pickups for materials placed
on hold and for book drops.
The new hours will affect all branches with the exception of
Noyes Library for Young Children in Kensington, which is currently not
offering services, and the Maggie Nightingale Library in Poolesville,
where hours will remain unchanged.
The new service hours are:
Sunday:
1-5 p.m.
Monday:
10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Tuesday:
10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Wednesday:
10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Thursday:
10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday:
10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday:
10 a.m.-6 p.m.
As with the previous hours, only telephone and contactless
holds pickup services will be provided at this time.
Montgomery County
to Expand Ride On Bus Service to Include All Routes Beginning on Sunday,
Aug. 2
Montgomery
County’s Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will expand Ride On bus
service starting Sunday, Aug. 2, to support businesses that continue to
reopen and residents who are resuming activity previously reduced by
the COVID-19 health crisis. All Ride On-branded bus routes and Ride On
Extra routes will be in service, with an overall increase of nearly 40
percent on weekdays from current service levels. The on-demand Flex
service remains suspended.
MCDOT continues to encourage essential trips only in order
to maintain bus capacity for those who most need public transportation
to access to work and essential services. While all Ride On routes will
be in operation, ridership capacity remains limited to 15 to 20
passengers per bus (about 40 percent of normal capacity) to maintain a
safe distance between riders.
Service was reduced during the health crisis as MCDOT
implemented an “Essential Services” plan, which was expanded to an
“Essential Plus” plan.
Ride On planners will closely monitor ridership data and
feedback from riders to identify routes that have demand levels
requiring additional capacity. Extra buses are stationed at all Metro
stations in the County and are ready to deploy to any nearby service
route that is experiencing levels of demand that cannot be met by buses
under the standard schedule.
Service hours and bus frequency beginning Aug. 2 will be
provided on all routes, but will continue to operate on a reduced basis
and riders are encouraged to visit the new schedule webpage.
Department of
Permitting Services Also Will Enforce COVID-19 Safe Practices While
Inspecting Construction Sites
Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services (DPS),
while conducting its regular inspections at construction sites, also will
now be enforcing COVID-19-related safe-distancing and wearing of face
coverings guidelines.
DPS Code Enforcement inspectors normally ensure compliance
with the County’s development and construction standards. The additional
duties are based on the County Council’s adoption on June 16 of County
Executive Marc Elrich’s Executive Order 082-20 regarding COVID-19 safety
guidelines.
DPS has developed an enforcement process regarding COVID-19
safety precautions. The first step is to talk with the construction
permit holder and any individuals in charge of the project on the safety
requirements and how remediation efforts can be implemented at the work
site. Continued violation of the regulations may result in the issuance
of a Notice of Violation and/or a citation.
DPS inspectors will issue a stop work order for the location
if the site continues to not to enforce the best practices as directed by
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, County Executive Elrich and the Montgomery
County Council.
During Health
Crisis, BlackRock Center for the Arts Becomes a Hub of Help
Stepping up in a crisis can take many forms, and for the
BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown and longtime community
activist Grace Rivera-Oven, that meant thinking outside the box to create
something special to meet the pressing needs caused by the COVID-19 health
crisis.
When COVID-19 first hit the Washington region in March,
Grace thought about the implications for her Upcounty neighbors. She knew
that many in the minority community, Latinos in particular, were going to
be at tremendous risk.
“They are essential workers and they are in the frontlines,”
she said.
To meet that need, she and a plethora of community partners
teamed up with BlackRock, which is located at 12901 Town Commons Drive in
Germantown. The well-known art gallery at the Center for the Arts has
temporarily evolved to become the Upcounty Consolidation Hub.
Each week, more than 100 volunteers gather there to assemble
boxes of essentials ranging from food and fresh produce to diapers, hand
sanitizers, wipes and formula. They also pack “COVID Kits” containing thermometers,
tissues, tea and masks for those fighting the virus at home. High school
and college students pitch in, some fanning out from the Hub to deliver
necessities to those in need.
“Creating this collaboration and creating the partnership is
allowing people to do something at a time when they feel helpless,” said
BlackRock CEO Lynn Andreas Arndt.
For Grace, the very first client the operation served
epitomizes why it has been worth the effort.
“Every Monday, she comes back and she gives us diapers and
wipes,” she said.
She told Grace that were it not for the Hub, she would have
been forced to go out to stores in search of formula for her family, even
though she was sick at that time.
The Hub is now coordinating collection and distribution of
goods for nearly 800 families a week. Current special needs include baby
formula and baby wipes.
