 Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich addresses how the County is progressing in its fight against COVID-19, both in slowing the spread of the virus and in increasing the number of residents who have received first and second vaccines. However, he reminds everyone that reopening the County must proceed with caution.
 Montgomery County Vaccine Distribution Charts
A new Montgomery County Vaccine Distribution dashboard has been launched to provide a more in-depth look about vaccinations, including updated figures on how many residents have been vaccinated. The dashboard includes the information that the County has passed the milestone of having more than 115,000 County residents receive at least one COVID-19 vaccination.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and County Councilmembers Will Jawando and Craig Rice will host a special virtual event from 7-8:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22, focused on “The Black Community and the COVID-19 Vaccine: Why Acceptance of the Vaccine is Important.”
The Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships and the Asian American Health Initiative of the County’s Department of Health and Human Services will host a virtual town hall meeting for the Asian American community on the importance of getting COVID-19 vaccines. The meeting, via Zoom, will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
 COVID-19 Deaths by Zip Code, Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Information Portal provides a variety of breakdowns on how the virus has impacted the County. The statistics are regularly updated to reflect the most recent reports during the health crisis. Among the information available is how many positive cases have been reported in each zip code in the County.
 There are numerous ways to get tested for COVID-19 in Montgomery County. The County operates dozens of clinics most weeks and rotates the locations to make testing easily accessible for residents in all parts of the County. In addition, there are many privately operated testing programs.
 The COVID-19 health crisis in itself has been quite a hardship, but recently, residents have found themselves as the targets of scams related to the virus threat. Now the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection is providing information on how to identify those scams on the County’s COVID-19 comprehensive website.
 Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services will help warm up the winter season with the next in its series of whiskey lotteries that provide opportunities for residents to purchase highly sought spirits. The lotteries are free to enter, but have varying residency requirements.
“Human Resources Issues During the Pandemic” will be the theme from noon-12:45 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19, when Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Economic Revitalization and Recovery program continues its series of virtual town hall meetings to keep businesses informed on strategies for doing business as the health crisis continues. The upcoming town hall will feature Silvia Kinch, the County’s chief of the Division of Labor Relations and Public Safety in the Office of the County Attorney.
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A public-private working group that included the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services, its Department of Transportation, and private industry is recommending a series of initiatives to streamline business development and growth in the County. The Economic Advisory Group’s (EAG) “Speed-to-Market” Working Group’s initiative would potentially cut entitlement time in half, while ensuring substantive community participation.
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 Montgomery County Public Libraries is celebrating Black History Month with special virtual programs during February.
Programs to celebrate Black History Month and other special February events are being offered by Montgomery Parks, which is part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Montgomery County’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs committed $58.9 million in Fiscal Year 2020 to reduce the housing cost burden of residents through a range of strategies that preserved and produced a significant amount of affordable housing.
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 COVID-19 has increased stresses for many people through increased social isolation, work changes and life disruptions. Major unfortunate consequences in Montgomery County have been increases in suicides and drug overdoses. Narcotics Anonymous (NA), a nonprofit, 12-step program, is helping residents for whom drugs have become a major problem and is available for others confronting drug addiction.
 The great thing about appliances, tools and devices that use rechargeable batteries is that they produce a lot of performance just by plugging them in for a period and being ready to go again. However, everyone has eventually learned that rechargeable batteries (and their devices), at some point, no longer hold a charge. The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection wants those batteries and devices to be disposed of properly.
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