Montgomery County, Maryland, could restart indoor meals amid a reduction in coronavirus cases, but officials emphasize that they still don’t think it’s a safe option.
Montgomery County, Maryland, may soon resume indoor meals amid a decline in coronavirus cases – making it the last jurisdiction in the state to do so – but officials emphasize that they still don’t think it is. a safe option.
An executive order project to allow indoor meals limited to 25% starting next Tuesday was sent to the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday.
Earl Stoddard, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Management, hinted at the action for the first time in an appearance before the council on Tuesday.
The request must be approved by the board and would not take effect until February 9.
The proposal to reopen covered restaurants is a turnaround for the county, which defended its ban on eating indoors, even with neighboring jurisdictions such as Prince George’s County and DC, lifting similar bans.
Speaking to the council on Tuesday morning, Stoddard suggested that the decision was about balancing public health needs and the economic impact of the ban, but said he still does not feel that eating indoors is safe.
“Just because something is allowed does not mean it is a good idea,” Stoddard told board members.
Any indoor activity where you cannot wear a face mask and are around other people than your home for a long period of time is not safe from a public health perspective, said Stoddard, adding: “My family will not participate “in indoor meals even if approved in the municipality.
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The county council stopped indoor meals in mid-December amid an increase and before a peak in coronavirus cases on the holiday.
More recently, the number of new cases per 100,000 residents has dropped by almost half – from almost 50 in early January to 26.2 on Tuesday, according to data from the county’s coronavirus panel. The test’s positivity rate also decreased more modestly.
At-Large Council member Will Jawando said he didn’t think restarting meals indoors would make sense, even with increasingly better numbers.
“I feel like I’m in ‘The Twilight Zone’,” he said. “If I asked everyone on the call – my colleagues and me – I would wait and I think we would all say that we are not dining indoors because it is not safe.”
Jawando said he would not support the measure to lift the ban on indoor dining when it is formally presented to the Montgomery County Council.
“It seems quite the opposite of what we would say, we have made a few weeks of progress and we are going to open a covered restaurant,” said Jawando.
‘How to watch a dystopian movie’
Montgomery County officials detailed the measures they are taking to ensure that a limited number of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are distributed equitably, targeting specific postal codes that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus in terms of deaths and cases.
Montgomery County Health Department officials recognized that the county has work to do to ensure an equitable distribution of vaccine doses.
Several weeks after a website was first opened, allowing county residents to pre-register for vaccines, either now or when doses are available for their group, there are stark demographic disparities, according to data presented to the Council of Montgomery County.
As of January 31, white county residents represented more than 73% of those who applied. The numbers do not align with the county’s overall demographics, according to US census data. There are also geographical disparities.
Dr. Raymond Crowel, head of the Montgomery County Health Department, showed council members a map showing how pre-registration by residents in the southwestern parts of the county, from Bethesda to Potomac, was very overrepresented, compared to the underrepresented areas further north and east, in Silver Spring and Gaithersburg, for example.
“The data shows that people are not signing up in proportion to their number in the population or in relation to the impact of COVID on the community,” said Crowel. “So we have work to do to increase access to pre-registration.”
In addition, the county is using the information collected during pre-registration applications to target certain populations based on race, ethnicity and geography within the 75-year-old or older group that is receiving appointments for vaccination.
Crowel said the county is prioritizing certain postal codes based on coronavirus case rates over the past 90 days and death rates throughout the pandemic to “identify and distribute doses to the people and communities that have been most adversely affected “.
Council members reacted indignantly at the disparities in access to the vaccine.
“I’m absolutely amazed … It’s like watching a dystopian film unfolding,” said council member Nancy Navarro, who represents District 4 on the board.
She said she is aware that there is a very limited number of vaccine doses, but said she found this worrying “the inequities and disparities are already so stark”.
She added: “When you look at who pre-registered, when we look at who will have access first, we are already seeing this extraordinary gap.”
Council member Craig Rice, who represents District 2, said he appreciates the efforts of the county health department to reach populations disproportionately affected by the virus.
But he noted that an increasing number of vaccine doses sent to the county by the state are bypassing the health department and being delivered to other suppliers, such as hospitals and retail pharmacies, that do not comply with county guidelines.
“The reality is that we have more doses outside than you have, that you don’t have the same commitment,” said Rice, speaking to health department officials. “And those who lose are the blacks in our community. We must be frank, honest and truthful about it. “
Rice said the proliferation of other providers receiving doses of vaccine by the state – rather than county health departments – means: “The state has decided to privately distribute the vaccine, without ensuring that it goes to those who need it most. Those are the facts. The numbers speak for themselves, we see and see the results ”.