 The surge of COVID-19 due largely to the fast-spreading Omicron variant is again putting great demand on County health services and County Executive Marc Elrich this week talks about how the County is responding. He stresses the need for all eligible residents to get vaccines and booster shots. He addresses how the County Government is working with Montgomery County Public Schools to do everything possible to safely preserve in-person learning. As the holidays approach, County Executive Elrich offers much appreciation for the outstanding efforts residents are making to help those in need.  Montgomery County continues to offer free COVID-19 testing to anyone who lives, works or regularly visits Montgomery County. However, County-operated clinics are experiencing high demand as the omicron variant spreads throughout the nation.  The Montgomery County Government will observe special schedule changes, with many programs not being held and most facilities, including senior centers, closed for the Christmas holiday weekend on Friday, Dec. 24, and Saturday, Dec. 25.  Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Information Portal provides a variety of breakdowns on how the virus has impacted the County. The statistics are updated to reflect the most recent reports from the State of Maryland during the health crisis. Among the information available is how many positive cases have been reported in each zip code in the County.  The surging COVID-19 virus is leading Montgomery County’s Community Use of Public Facilities, the interagency coordinating board, to change some policies regarding reservations and use of facilities. No new reservations are currently being accepted.  Byron A. Johns, Blanca Kling, Diego Uriburu and Harvey Zeigler have been honored with Montgomery County’s top humanitarian awards for 2021. County Executive Marc Elrich presented the awards at a recent event that recognized the essential role volunteers play in the success of the County. Montgomery County’s Emergency Rental Assistance program’s (ERA) COVID Rent Relief application portal will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 31. Applications submitted before the deadline will be reviewed and processed, but no additional applications will be received after that time. All food service businesses in Montgomery County may not sell or provide food or beverages in any foam or rigid polystyrene (Styrofoam™) food service products starting Saturday, Jan. 1. Items to be prohibited include food containers, plates, hot and cold beverage cups and other products made of polystyrene. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has expanded the service area for e-scooters to include Germantown. The service was expanded into the Gaithersburg area earlier this year. Montgomery County Public Libraries will host its sixth free comic convention, “MoComCon,” on Saturday, Jan. 15. MoComCon 2022 events will be both virtual and in-person at a new location, the Germantown Library. Comic lovers of all ages will be able to find things they like as the event celebrates comics, graphic novels and fandoms. Montgomery County-based companies Novavax and Truebill each ended the 2021 corporate year with major news. Each company has received support from the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership that helps local companies with resources, site selection, funding, incentives, permitting and more. Montgomery History will hold its 16th Annual “Montgomery History Conference” in a hybrid format Jan. 19-29. Over 11 days, the conference will offer a myriad of opportunities to take part online and in-person. There will be three keynote sessions, 12 breakout sessions, a movie screening and a trivia night.  The 18th annual “Greenscapes Symposium” will be hosted virtually this year by Montgomery Parks and Brookside Gardens on Friday, Feb. 18. The day-long event will be held from 9:15 a.m.- 4 p.m. The symposium brings together experts in the field of landscape sustainability and the environment to provide timely information and solutions to environmental challenges.  Photos of the holiday-decorated Montgomery County Flash bus that operates in the Columbia Pike (US 29) area could win photographers $25 gift cards or other prizes when the photos are posted on social media. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is looking for photos of the innovative service for its “FlashLIGHTS Photo Contest.”  The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs in Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 leveraged existing and new finance and policy tools to preserve current affordable housing and increase the number of rent-regulated units for people with low incomes. These and other results are summarized in a new report. | 
