As Demand for Testing Surges, Anne Arundel County is Distributing 100k At-Home Tests

The line snaked around the back of the Maryland City Volunteer Fire Department on Wednesday, then up a hill toward the main road, as hundreds of people, bundled up for protection from a brisk wind, sought to get some of the 100,000 free at-home COVID-19 tests the Anne Arundel County Health Department is distributing this week.

When the line reached the front of the building, none other than County Executive Steuart Pittman (D) was there, handing out Flowflex home antigen tests — two at a time, the limit per household.

Hundreds of people waited in line at Live! Casino for at-home COVID tests on Wednesday. The site is one of more than a dozen where tests are being handed out this week. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.

“Happy holidays. Stay safe,” Pittman said, handing off a pair of boxes to a county resident who was trying to amass enough tests for his family, including a college-age son concerned about exposure and an elderly mother with health conditions.

“They’re going fast,” Pittman said, reaching for another pair of tests, Wednesday morning.

Demand for testing comes as families contemplate how to safely gather for the Christmas holiday, and newly refreshed state data shows COVID transmission is on the rise in Maryland.

On Tuesday, the state posted its largest single-day increase in cases — 6,216 — since the pandemic began; more than 4,000 more cases were reported Wednesday.

Hospital systems are nearing capacity and emergency protocols will kick in when there are more than 1,500 hospitalized COVID patients; on Wednesday, there were 1,465 people in acute or critical care units for COVID treatment.

Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, Anne Arundel’s health officer, said residents should take a COVID-19 test if they feel sick, have been exposed to anyone with COVID or are going to be gathering with others.

“It’s important to be with friends and family during this holiday, but it’s important to do that safely,” he said at a press conference earlier this week. “So please wear a mask, get tested, get your vaccine.”

Residents who test positive after taking a home test are asked to notify the county health department, quarantine and participate in contact tracing.

Pittman also urged continued precautions on Tuesday.

“[COVID] is raging through our communities at a faster rate than it ever has,” he said at a press conference announcing the availability of the home tests. “And if you’re unvaccinated, your chances of ending up in the hospital or dying from COVID are higher now than they’ve ever been.”

After demand for tests far outpaced supply on the first day of distributions on Tuesday, Pittman authorized the purchase of the additional 200,000 tests.

Those kits should arrive next week, he said from the testing site on Wednesday morning.

The county used $1.7 million in American Rescue Plan funding to buy the first round of tests.

The county executive’s office did not provide the total number of tests that have been handed out so far, or how many people interested in getting a test have been turned away from giveaway sites after supplies ran out.

Distribution sites and the number of tests available on Thursday are contingent on how many tests remain in the county’s stockpile after Wednesday night distribution events.

At the state level, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced late last month that more than 500,000 home tests would be distributed to county health departments. On Tuesday, more than 5,000 free at-home COVID test kits were claimed at Baltimore libraries within minutes.

Lab-based PCR tests are also available across the state and residents seeking tests at private, county and state-run sites have also faced long lines.

More than 39,000 new test results were reported by the state on Wednesday. The highest single day for testing volume was last December, when more than 66,000 results were reported on one day.

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