State to county chiefs: Virus data available

Health department’s letter responds to some concerns

After leaders of Maryland’s eight largest jurisdictions called on the state to release more expansive coronavirus data, the Maryland Department of Health responded with a letter saying counties already have access to most of the data they’re seeking.

Last week, the county executives of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Frederick and Montgomery counties and the mayor of Baltimore — all Democrats — asked Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to release key coronavirus metrics, including contact tracing data, by this coming Monday, the start of the new academic year. They also requested data on testing results time, new cases from quarantined contacts and raw data for each jurisdiction.

In the state health department’s response, Secretary Robert R. Neall asked for more collaboration and communication with local health officials rather than “talking about it through a correspondence campaign.”

“We cannot emphasize enough that your respective local administrations should work closely with your local health commissioner or officer,” Neall wrote. “They already have access to much of the information you ask for in your letter.”

The executives’ letter to the governor is one of several from local leaders since the pandemic started. They’ve called for advance notice on reopening decisions, an extended eviction prevention program and a comprehensive plan for childcare across the state. Though the names on the letters have varied slightly, the underlying plea from counties has been for better communication and a seat at the decision-making table.

The county leaders say their plea for more contact tracing data is critical to local management of the virus.

Since moving to reopen the state this spring, Hogan has allowed local officials to make decisions about their counties’ policies, reflecting the approach taken by President Donald Trump, whose administration has largely left policy decisions up to state and local governments.

The health department’s letter responds to some but not all of the local leaders’ concerns.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, a consistent critic of

Hogan’s conservative reopening approach, said Friday that county leaders “lost access” to Hogan when the governor stopped having his weekly meetings with them earlier this year. Responding to Neall’s letter, Pittman said Anne Arundel County does not plan to stop using letters to communicate with the governor’s office.

“The best information is in the hands of the state, but it’s local health officers and local county leaders who are making the decisions,” Pittman said.

Pittman said he wishes the health officers from every local jurisdiction could be “sitting around the same table looking at the same information so they could put all their experience and minds together.”

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said in a statement although he appreciates “the timely response” from the state, the county still needs more information.

“There were several urgent issues that the state did not address such as lab resulting times specifically in the contract tracing database to maximize the contact tracing efforts,” Ball said in a statement.

Ball said the state should speed up development of Maryland’s contact tracing database so counties know how COVID-19 contacts were made and which occupations are hotspots.