Howard County has worked with other jurisdictions to place bulk orders of personal protective equipment (PPE), accessed the strategic national stockpile, and received many donations, including supplies from Howard Community College and Howard County Public School System. The county has secured:
● 35,000 N95 masks
● 67,000 surgical masks
● 5000 face shields
● 310,000 gloves
“We have been working collaboratively over many weeks to acquire PPE for our community,” said County Executive Calvin Ball. “Because of the determination, ingenuity, and generosity of our leaders, businesses, and residents, we have not run out of PPE yet. The COVID-19 crisis is a marathon though, not a sprint, and we will continue to exhaust all options to ensure we have an adequate supply. For the foreseeable future, Howard County is still accepting PPE donations and we greatly appreciate anything our community can contribute.”
Howard County is also utilizing innovative technology like UV lights and the Battelle System to decontaminate N95 masks. The Health Department has distributed the acquired PPE to skilled nursing facilities, urgent care centers, assistant living centers, primary care practices, dentists, and more.
Howard County Government is still accepting donations of PPE from residents, neighbors, and leaders. If you have access or a supply of PPE to donate, please contact [email protected].
Additionally, Howard County has updated the COVID-19 Dashboard to include new information on the age and race of cases. Data show that individuals ages 25-49 continue to be contracting coronavirus at the highest rate. However, the majority of deaths are of residents over the age of 65. Additionally, race data will now be made available by HCHD and will be provided weekly on an ongoing basis. For nearly 25% of the data, race is unknown.