Anne Arundel County distributed 100,000 free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests within days last week and County Executive Steuart Pittman says there are more on the way.
Pittman said in a virtual news conference Tuesday his goal was to get that first batch of tests out as quickly as possible.
“We wanted to get them out before the holiday so that people could test before they gathered and met with one another,” he said. “And that was an all government effort.”
Health officials set up distribution points at malls, fire stations, police stations, libraries and at Live! Casino and Hotel Maryland at Arundel Mills. In almost every case, the tests were gone within an hour or less.
Pittman called it “an extraordinary effort” to get the tests out as quickly as they did.
“We did not stop there,” he added. “We immediately ordered more. We've got 200,000 more coming.”
Pittman said those tests should arrive next week, but the distribution plan will be different. Rather than try to get them out before a deadline, such as the holidays, the distribution plan will move more slowly.
“It will reach more parts of the county, there will be an equity lens on all that we do so that folks can get these test kits no matter where they live, and whether they have a car to drive,” he said, adding he would announce those plans next week.
