COVID-19 Joint Information Center Update: April 13, 2020

Posted: April 13, 2020

Coronavirus, Daily COVID-19 Briefings

The Washington County, Maryland Joint Information Center (JIC) provides the following update regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Emergency Operations Center

If a family member is sick or you suspect they are sick with COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following precautions to prevent the spread of germs in your home:

• Stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom (if possible).

• Avoid sharing dishes, towels, and bedding

• Wear a face covering when around others (within the home, in a vehicle, or doctor’s office), if possible

Learn more about caring for a sick person by visiting https://bit.ly/3a5uKZo

WASHINGTON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Many people have raised concerns about food safety during the COVID-19 crisis. The following describes the steps that the Washington County Health Department and food service establishments are taking to ensure the safety of customers and employees.

During the COVID-19 crisis, food service establishments are encouraged to follow the best practices described by the Food and Drug Administration, which can be viewed by clicking here. These include requiring sick employees to stay home, frequent hand washing, wearing of face coverings as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, thorough cleaning and disinfecting, social distancing, and guidelines for safe pick-up and delivery.

The Washington County Health Department conducts rigorous case investigations and contact tracing for every individual confirmed to have COVID-19. This involves contacting the ill individual, providing guidelines for self-isolation and following up to determine when it is safe to release from isolation. Our Health Department also follows up with all close contacts to the ill individual. These individuals are instructed to quarantine for 14 days and to self-monitor for the development of COVID-19 symptoms. This is key to reducing the spread of the virus as COVID-19 may be transmitted by individuals who are incubating the virus but have not developed symptoms of infection. If an employee of a food service establishment tests positive for COVID-19 he or she would be required to self-isolate until no longer contagious. Any close contacts, including other employees of the establishment, would be required to quarantine and self-monitor.

Any restaurant or other food service establishment with ill employees would be required to perform thorough cleaning and disinfection, especially in those areas where the ill employee has been working. This might require a period of closure for the establishment and would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness and is not spread by contact with food, so there is no requirement for public notification that an employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

It is important for all of us to understand that there is widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in Washington County. It is crucial for everyone to observe the recommendations for social distancing, frequent hand hygiene, frequent cleaning of surfaces, and wearing of face coverings in public.

MERITUS HEALTH

Meritus Health now has a COVID-19 clinic for patients who have non-emergency health care needs and are either confirmed or suspected by a health care provider to have COVID-19. The new non-emergency care COVID-19 clinic is located at 13620 Crayton Blvd., inside Meritus Medical Plaza. Patients should enter through the main lobby of the building. Hours are Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on weekends. COVID-19 screening will not take place at the new clinic. Patients should be referred to this clinic by a Meritus Medical Group provider through an e-visit or another health care professional through a telehealth visit or by calling the COVID-19 care line at 301-790-9170.

Meritus Health continues to offer telehealth visits. These visits will allow patients to speak directly with a primary care provider to discuss health concerns.

Telehealth visits are available from 8:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. To request a telehealth visit please complete the form below.

BOOK YOUR TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENT HERE

COVID-19 TESTING SITES

Click on the map to right to access the closest testing site.

Once you have spoken with someone on the COVID-19 care line – 301-790-9170 – or to your physician about your symptoms, you may be directed to Meritus Health’s drive-thru or walk-thru screening center.

Drive-thru Center: COVID-19 screening is available behind Meritus Medical Plaza, at 13620 Crayton Blvd. Hours are Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and weekends from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Walk-thru Center: COVID-19 screening is available at 24 N. Walnut St, Hagerstown, MD. The walk-thru screening center is open Monday – Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

To view testing guidelines for COVID-19 at Meritus testing locations, please click here.

For the most up-to-date information on Meritus Medical Group e-visits, visitor restrictions at Meritus Health facilities including the hospital and other COVID-19 resources, please visit https://www.meritushealth.com/patients-visitors/public-notice/.

WASHINGTON COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Please stay tuned to www.hagerstown.org for the latest information on COVID-19 relief resources, local restaurants that remain open for business, and more! Also, please feel free to contact your Chamber staff throughout this challenging time. Find our contact information HERE.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Wednesday, April 15, 2020, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

The Latest Updates as of 4/15 to SBA’s EIDL, PPP, and other COVID-19 Business Loans

The SBDC will be doing a webinar to discuss SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan,PPP, and current updates regarding other COVID-19 Business Loans. Please RSVP to this event and make sure that we have a valid email with your registration. Space is limited which is why we are requiring an RSVP- if we get an overwhelming response, we can schedule another one and also send out the recorded webinar. After registering you will receive the Zoom Meeting link prior to the webinar starting to click on or dial in for the webinar. Please note the course registration closes at a set point due to the need to prepare for the current individuals already registered. If you have specific questions that you would like addressed, please contact John Hickman [email protected]

Thursday, April 16, 2020, 10-11:30 a.m.

“The Counselor Is In – Q&A with SBDC Business Consultants”

In light of the current COVID-19 health situation, we invite you to attend a webinar where you have the opportunity to get answers to your questions about all of the aid programs that are being offered to you. You are more than welcome to sit in on the webinar to hear what others are asking or you can get questions answered as time allows. Questions need to be submitted to Diane at [email protected] no later than April 10, 2020. This “The counselor is in” session will offer you the opportunity to get your questions answered. We are planning to have available during the webinar, five of our SBDC consultants to answer as many questions as time allows. We hope you can join this informative webinar.

Attention Employers & Grant / Loan Applicants:

The Maryland Department of Commerce released information regarding previous application for the MD COVID-19 Grant and Loan Programs. This includes information to check your status. Read more by clicking here.

PPP opened up on April 10th for independent contractors and self-employed individuals.

The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) authorizes up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. All loan terms will be the same for everyone.

Chamber Webinar Recording Available: Navigating the Coronavirus Business Resources

To access the slide deck used throughout this presentation, click HERE.

CITY OF HAGERSTOWN

The City of Hagerstown is currently operating under the Mayor’s Declaration of a Civil Emergency. Permit inspections will continue as normal while City Hall is closed to the public, with the exception of City Staff will not enter the interior of occupied residential structures or facilities for inspections. City staff are offering virtual inspections for occupied residential structures starting on Monday, April 13^th.

Virtual inspections are an alternative to in-person inspections, enable prompt service, productive follow-ups, and scheduling for occupied residential structures during the Civil Emergency. Virtual inspections are conducted between a Virtual Inspection (VI) Representative and City inspector by using a video call on a smart phone, tablet, or other webcam enabled device.

Minimum Requirements for a Virtual Inspection:

All building-related inspections (building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing) for occupied residential structures may be considered for virtual inspections; however, based on the size and/or complexity of the project it may not be possible to conduct virtually. Note:
Inspection complexity will be determined by the inspector
For inspections deemed too complex for virtual completion, the City will discuss other options that will permit the project to have inspections in a safe manner.
Customers must have a host device such as a smartphone, tablet, or webcam enabled device connected to Wi-Fi or 4G wireless service.
FaceTime (Apple OS device) or Goggle Duo (all devices) is required to host the video call. Check your mobile device’s app store to download.
If the project has a building permit for work being conducted, all approved plans must be onsite and available for review to the inspection staff during the video call.
Ensure you have the necessary tools (based on the inspection type) readily available. For example, a tape measure, screwdriver, level (4ft for building & plumbing/torpedo for plumbing), thermometer, GFCI tester/voltage tester, ladder, device to test smoke/carbon monoxide alarms and/or flashlight.

The purpose of this page is to help the public distinguish between rumors and facts regarding the response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Rumors can easily circulate within communities during a crisis. Do your part to the stop the spread of disinformation by doing 3 easy things; don’t believe the rumors, don’t pass them along and go to trusted sources of information to get the facts about the state of Maryland’s (COVID-19) response.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES & INFORMATION

HORIZON GOODWILL – CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS TO ASSIST WITH FABRIC MASKS

Multiple local agencies and organizations that provide direct or essential services have requested in obtaining fabric masks for their employees. Horizon Goodwill is partnering with these agencies and volunteers to provide materials and instructions for creation of these masks. We have the supplies and instructions; we need volunteers with sewing machines to help get them made!

Organizations Needing Masks

City of Hagerstown- 125

Washington County EOC- 200

Salvation Army Soup Kitchen – 40

Turning Point Homeless Outreach Team- 50

Horizon Goodwill – 400

Arc of Washington County – TBA

Additional Ask

Emergency Command-7000-8000 masks that need elastic replaced. These will be at the CAC for repair, need volunteers 10:00 a.m.-Noon or Noon-2:00 p.m. Monday-Friday to complete this project. We want to keep these in one place so that we can be sure all masks are returned to Sheriff. This initiative began on April 10th and will continue until completed.

Contact Information

Call Brooke Grossman, Horizon Goodwill volunteer Point Of Contact, at 301-988-0185 if interested in assisting.

Interested volunteers/groups should pick one of the projects above and a quantity they feel is reasonable for them to produce. Pickup of packaged materials will be coordinated at Horizon Goodwill headquarters at 145151 Pennsylvania Ave (across from Nick’s Airport Inn). Once volunteers are identified for specific projects, they will be provided with the POC for the specific organization and they can deliver masks directly once complete.