Howard County announces fewer than a dozen negative coronavirus tests; libraries, senior centers to close

The Howard County Health Department has performed fewer than a dozen tests for the new coronavirus, all of which have come back negative, health officials said Friday.

County officials hosted a second news conference regarding coronavirus updates Friday to update residents on postponed and canceled events and limited county resources.

As of 2 p.m. Friday, there are 18 cases of the coronavirus in Maryland; none of the affected are county residents.

Howard County Health Officer Maura Rossman said the number of tests performed by the health department is not the total number that have been done in the county because tests could have been administered at Quest and LabCorp, two private labs that announced over the course of the last week that they would have testing capabilities.

“Any provider in the state of Maryland now can collect a specimen from a patient that they think should have [COVID-19] testing and can send that specimen to LabCorp or Quest,” Rossman said. “We are preparing for cases of hospital surge if needed.”

She also emphasized, like many health officials, that people should avoid at-risk areas and at-risk people, noting the importance of not stigmatizing individuals that may be more susceptible to the virus.

Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday night that Maryland public schools will be closed March 16-27.

The Howard County Library System will shut down libraries beginning Monday through March 27. The library system is waiving late fees and is asking residents to not return items in order to prevent the potential spread of the coronavirus.

At close of business Friday, all 50+ centers in the county will also be closed through March 27.

“Most of our concentration has been on preparing for the event that eventually we will have a patient who has tested positive for COVID-19, and we’re also working on screening patients who are concerned about that at the moment,” said Dr. Shafeeq Ahmed, chief medical officer at Howard County General Hospital.

Ahmed also said they are “judiciously” using equipment to get to the patients that need it the most.

There is a tent set up outside the hospital, but it is not operational yet. Ahmed said the hospital is working on plans for potentially screening patients in the tent.

Nationwide, there have been questions and concerns regarding the availability of tests and where individuals can go to get a test. All testing had previously been done at the Maryland Department of Health until LabCorp or Quest announced testing capabilities in some states, including Maryland.

Rossman also said the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University were working to develop their own tests.

“It’s impossible to know at this point [how many tests are being done] because the tests are being done in a variety of different places and we’re really only concentrating on the positives,” Rossman said.

County Executive Calvin Ball also announced the residents’ budget hearing that was canceled Thursday will be held online at 6 p.m. March 30.

“We’re closely monitoring this rapidly evolving situation,” Ball said Friday.