Anne Arundel County Department of Health Shares COVID-19 Mitigation and Response Plan
Annapolis, MD – Building on lessons learned over the past two plus years, the Anne Arundel County Department of Health is releasing its COVID-19 Mitigation and Response Plan. This plan ensures that the staffing capacity and tools are in place to respond to periods of low and high transmission.
“We know that COVID is not going away. There will be surges and new variants, but we have the knowledge and tools to keep people safer and slow the spread of the virus,” Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman said. “The COVID-19 Mitigation and Response Plan includes a range of strategies to equitably get residents the information and services they need. It also includes a flexible set of tools to ensure that we can adapt to changing circumstances.”
The plan incorporates the tools the Anne Arundel County Department of Health has to protect residents based on the data, science and community transmission. The Department will be using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Community Levels dashboard which describes the “impact of COVID-19 illness on health and healthcare systems” to guide the intensity of our mitigation efforts.
These tools include vaccines, masks, tests, disease surveillance and oral therapeutics. The tools used to fight the pandemic and the science they are based on are constantly evolving and becoming more effective. This plan and our response will also evolve with the science to provide the most up-to-date and effective public health interventions.
“This plan puts the strategy and tools in place to continue saving lives in Anne Arundel County,” County Executive Steuart Pittman said, “I want to thank Dr. Kalyanaraman and the Department of Health team for their work on this plan, and I want to encourage residents to review it carefully.”
Recognizing that each variant brings with it unique characteristics relative to the specific conditions in our neighborhoods and communities, the COVID-19 Mitigation and Response Plan includes flexibility and ensures the county has the resources and capabilities in place to tackle the COVID-19 challenges that lie ahead.
