May 20, 2020
Media Contact:
Scott Peterson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Information, 202-277-9412
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Two urgent care sites in Howard County are testing for COVID-19 in addition to the drive-thru VEIP site in Columbia. Yesterday, Governor Hogan announced expanded testing across the State of Maryland. Now, residents are not required to receive a referral from a medical provider to get tested at some VEIP sites and pharmacists can order and conduct COVID-19 tests. At this time, appointments and referrals are still required for testing at the VEIP site in Columbia.
“Every day we’re moving closer to our goal of expanded testing,” said County Executive Calvin Ball. “As we’ve said before, robust testing and contact tracing are the formula for stopping the community spread of COVID-19 and allowing us to reopen more of our economy. We’re grateful to our Health Department and the many healthcare providers in Howard County working together to help us reach our goals.”
The following urgent care locations are offering COVID-19 diagnostic testing following an evaluation:
First Call Urgent Care Center
10981 Johns Hopkins Rd, Laurel, MD 20723
410-730-3399
Hours are 8 am - 9 pm on Monday-Friday for COVID testing.
Walk-Ins accepted.
All Care Urgent Care
9396 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, MD, 21042
410-480-9110
Monday-Friday: 8am - 8pm
Saturday: 8am - 4pm, Sunday: 9am - 4pm
Walk-Ins accepted.
Additionally, Governor Hogan announced today that, as part of the state’s long-term testing strategy, Maryland will begin universal COVID-19 testing at all state-run correctional and juvenile facilities. The governor also announced that:
The state is delivering more than 20,000 tests per week to nursing homes.
The state’s Public Health Laboratory is producing up to 10,000 tubes of viral transport media on a weekly basis to overcome supply chain challenges and boost testing resources.
Maryland is distributing more than 33,000 additional swabs to local jurisdictions to help boost local testing capacity.
Nursing Homes
Howard County has tested more than 300 nursing home staff members and more than 450 residents at 17 locations. Maryland Department of Health requires the testing of all nursing home residents and staff to ensure the safety of all residents. Howard County continues to aggressively test at its 17 congregate care sites and to contract trace individuals who test positive. Through this process, the spread amongst residents, staff, and other individuals in the household is being minimized.
Economic Development Authority Reopening Resources
The Howard County Economic Development Authority has added reopening guidance and resources to its online business portal. The portal includes Executive Order’s from Howard County and Maryland on what is eligible to reopen, best practices for different industries, and an operational toolkit and risk assessment from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
SNAP Expansion
The Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) announced today that it has secured approval from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service on its April 17th request to expedite online grocery purchases for food insecure Marylanders. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP as it’s commonly known, helps low-income households buy the food they need. This accelerated timeline will provide SNAP households in Maryland with the opportunity to purchase groceries online from approved USDA retailers at no additional cost.