The ongoing fight against the coronavirus presents the City of Annapolis with the biggest challenge any government can face. Annapolis is striving to protect the lives of our residents in the midst of this pandemic that has come to our community and affected every manner of life.
The city has taken unprecedented steps in response to the threat. We are marshaling every possible resource in partnership with Anne Arundel County, the State of Maryland, non-profit organizations, local businesses, volunteers, and others.
I am so proud of the heroic efforts that city employees continue to make to keep essential services running. Firefighters and police officers respond to every call as they always do; emergency management is coordinating the COVID-19 response. Transportation takes essential personnel around the city, and public works is maintaining our critical infrastructure.
The Small Business Recovery Task Force is doing great work in support of our local businesses.
There is so much more we must do to limit the spread of COVID-19, starting with targeted outreach and consistent testing. I represent the constituents of Ward 4 as a member of the City Council and former chair of the Public Safety Committee. Significant populations of African American and Latino residents live in my ward, the very populations that statistics have shown are at heightened risk of the virus. Many constituents do not have access to personal transportation and cannot attend COVID-19 testing sites in Anne Arundel County. We must bring testing directly to our communities.
So far, Annapolis and the county Department of Health have worked together to bring three pop-up testing sites to communities in Annapolis, where they are most needed. The results have shown there is both a need and demand for pop-up testing. On all three occasions, the city has run out of tests and turned interested residents away.
The shortage in Annapolis comes at a critical time, when government restrictions to stop the spread are loosening in Anne Arundel County and other local jurisdictions. Two of three ZIP codes in Anne Arundel County, with the highest concentrations of COVID-19 infections, are in Annapolis. These figures are likely even higher than reported.
Annapolis is also conducting targeted outreach to communities most at risk. City employees and volunteers have worked together to distribute food to thousands of Annapolitans. The city has working groups for both Spanish speaking communities and African American communities that customize their outreach strategies and communicate directly with residents. Unfortunately, both targeted outreach and pop-up testing are not as effective as they could be for the same reason – a lack of access to necessary data.
The Department of Health provides data on its website according to ZIP codes. Both ZIP codes in Annapolis cross into Anne Arundel County, which makes it impossible to know how many COVID-19 cases are in the city. The Department of Health has provided some helpful city-specific information sporadically, but Annapolis officials do not know which neighborhoods have the highest levels of infections.
We have to base the decisions of where to conduct testing and outreach on rumors and educated guesses as to where these critical services would be most impactful. I have requested the Health Department to provide Annapolis the necessary data. I understand the HIPAA Rules and am not asking to breach confidentiality; we don’t need names or exact addresses, just neighborhoods. We need to know where to target our efforts.
The department has this valuable data, while Annapolis knows how to reach populations at risk, like those in Ward 4. The Department of Health and Annapolis should strengthen our partnership and use the data to enhance testing and outreach efforts. After all, the city and the Department of Health share the same goal – to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Let’s do more to work together and make it happen.
Alderwoman Sheila M. Finlayson represents Ward 4 on the Annapolis City Council.
