County Council receives health department update focusing on coronavirus response

In early March, the Anne Arundel County Department of Health mobilized to call the close contacts of residents who’d fallen ill to the coronavirus, testing residents who thought they might have caught it, and putting at-risk residents up in motels when necessary.

Over the past seven months, the Department has built up the COVID-19 response pillars significantly while also adapting other services, said Health Officer Dr.

Nilesh Kalyanaraman, in a presentation to the County Council Monday night. The council heard a presentation from the health department early in Monday’s meeting but planned to discuss and vote on legislation, including a bill removing County Executive Steuart Pittman’s emergency powers.

The council sat as the Board of Health for more than an hour. Councilmembers saved the discussion on the county’s approach to reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic for the end of the meeting. Read the final meeting results at www.capitalgazette.com.

In his presentation to the council, Kalyanaraman stated the coronavirus had become the fourth-leading cause of death for county residents, killing at least 251 people as of Monday. He also gave the council a breakdown of how the health department has adapted to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and the effect it had on services. Both food assistance and case management were

under increased demand, the health officer said. The bill ending Pittman’s emergency powers is sponsored by Councilman Nathan Volke, R-Pasadena, who has been a vocal critic of Pittman’s handling of the pandemic, frequently criticizing his reopening approach and making legislative efforts to shift the decision making power. The sponsor of many related resolutions over the past seven months, Volke also introduced near-identical legislation in May, about two months after the state of emergency took effect.

That bill failed. As this bill is emergency legislation, it requires five votes to pass.

The council had not yet heard the emergency legislation as of press time, but online reports of testimony showed several hundred people had weighed in with written testimony, and 14 residents signed up to give live audio testimony to the council. Many residents expressed support for the legislation, and some wrote about how coronavirus restrictions have hurt businesses and led to struggles for many county residents.

If passed, the billwould not immediately reopen the entire county or shift everything back to pre-virus conditions, Volke said.

Instead, it would align the county with the most liberal reopening permissions from Gov. Larry Hogan and give the council a more active role in the reopening process. Though the county executive wouldn’ t have the same level of power in this regard, the health officer still has powers through a Hogan executive order, and his mandates would stand. Pittman and Kalyanaraman have worked closely throughout the pandemic. The two serve together on the recovery advisory group, which meets bi-weekly.

The council also approved a resolution authorizing a grant for a paralegal for the county drug court program; a resolution approving the determination of a piece of unused county-owned land on Bestgate Road in Annapolis; and a resolution that authorizes the application for sale of a 67.5-acre swath of land in Davidsonville by Eleanor R. King to the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.

Also on the agenda, the council planned to hear legislation related to zoning for agritourism venues, cottage food businesses, unattended drop boxes, indoor rifle, pistol, skeet, and archery ranges, aswell as a public works bill relating to water and wastewater systems. They also planned to discuss a resolution from Councilwoman Lisa Brannigan Rodvien, D-Annapolis, declaring Nov. 1 as Maryland Emancipation Day in Anne Arundel County.