Find COVID Tests, Get Vaccinated In Howard County: March 1

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — As of Tuesday, Howard County officials reported a total positive COVID-19 case count of 43,022 so far. Maryland has 1,002,634 confirmed cases total so far, reports the state department of health. The county has been unable to update case data to its site since December because of technical issues.

Maura Rossman, health officer for Howard County, explained recently that the Center for Disease Control recently released a new framework to monitor the level of COVID-19 in communities that includes hospitalizations, hospital capacity and cases. This new approach focuses on preventing hospitals and the healthcare system from being overwhelmed and directing prevention efforts toward protecting people at high risk for severe illness.

Rather than focusing on eliminating all virus transmission, CDC will recommend prevention measures, such as masks, when the level of severe disease in communities has the potential to overwhelm the healthcare system. These prevention measures can reduce that strain and avoid crisis.

Recommendations will be based on the level of COVID-19 in a community and the strain on healthcare;

• When communities are at a “low” level: In this circumstance, masks are not needed in most settings.
• When communities are at a “medium” level: Hospitals are seeing more sick patients and there is likely more disease in the community. The focus is on protecting the people who are most likely to get severely ill and die from COVID-19. In this circumstance, masks are optional. People at high-risk or who interact with someone who is immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease may choose to wear well-fitting masks indoors in public.
• When communities are at a “high” level: There is potential the healthcare system could soon become strained. In this case, universal indoor masking is recommended, including schools and workplaces.

Howard County has been designated as a community with a low level of transmission, so masking is not needed in most settings, but individuals may opt to wear a mask at any time, Rossman noted.

"Everyone should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if you have symptoms," she said.

Get tested

The Howard County Health Department provides PCR testing for COVID-19 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. using the FDA-authorized Azova saliva test kit. Self-collection testing is administered on-site or take-home test kits are available for testing.

Test results are available in two to four days. These tests can be used for routine employment testing, pre-travel testing, or school quarantine/isolation. These tests are free but appointments are required and can be made at https://howardcounty.azova.com/.

Rapid testing and PCR testing will be available to residents at no upfront cost through a partnership with First Call Urgent Care and Centennial Medical Group at these sites each week. These testing sites are open seven days a week from noon to 7 p.m.

Test kits also can be purchased from some retailers and pharmacies.

Get vaccinated

You can register for vaccines at this site and a variety of sites by using the state vaccine locator at https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine#locator.

Find a county-operated clinic and register here.