Enhanced COVID testing

July 24, 2020

Dear resident,

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis I have devoted my energy to providing oversight on the critical public health measures that we must have in place in order to get the virus under control.

You already know that the County Council has enacted requirements for shutdowns and reopenings, generally affirming plans developed collaboratively with the executive branch.

Occasionally we have had to use our regulatory power to accelerate action on crucial issues where the executive’s public health response has not moved fast enough.

Facial coverings for example — our County requirement for facial coverings (and funding to distribute them) was established because the Council backed my proposal in early April. We became one of the first jurisdictions in the country to embrace a requirement. Keep Reading >>

As we continue opening…

June 17, 2020

Keep wearing your facial coverings or masks
The science on facial coverings is clear: they are “the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission,” as the Washington Post observes.

I first reached out to my community of email readers and urged everyone to start wearing and making masks on April 4. The response was inspiring.

As one of the first elected officials advocating for a mask requirement, I also received a lot of pushback, including in County government. But I was glad to see that not only did the County ultimately agree with my proposal to require masks, but DC and the state of Maryland did as well. Governor Hogan even thanked the County for leading on the issue.

To support access to facial coverings, I also worked to establish a successful grant program to help businesses pivot to mask and PPE production, supporting both our health response and economic development.

Keep reading >>

Council funded grants support local businesses to pivot to PPE, emergency response

May 15, 2020

Councilmember Riemer spearheaded special appropriation to create Local Production Fund

ROCKVILLE, Md., May 15, 2020—Supported by a special appropriation by the Council, the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) has awarded 25 local businesses with funds totaling $200,000 for the manufacture of Covid-19-related personal protective equipment (PPE).

Councilmember Hans Riemer initiated the appropriation and partnered with MCEDC to create the Local Production Fund. MCEDC administers the fund and matched the Council’s $100,000 appropriation with $100,000 from their budget.

“I proposed this fund because we need the ingenuity of public private partnerships to get through this trying time,” said Councilmember Riemer. “These grants are going to help provide essential Covid-19-related equipment, much of which is in short supply. At the same time, it stimulates several sectors of our local economy and positions them for longer-term growth and recovery. I want to thank MCEDC for their work to support local business.”

Keep reading >>

Testing and tracing

May 11, 2020

Dear resident,

We all need this lockdown to end, and the only true solution is a vaccine.

Do we want schools and workplaces to reopen? Of course we do.

The only way that is going to happen successfully is if we have MUCH more aggressive public health management systems in place. So that is what I have been working on.

First and foremost we need to test more people — in fact, everyone.

That is why I have been pushing for weeks to expand testing. We MUST build a testing strategy…

• For all workers and residents in long term care and group homes; systematic and regular testing regardless of symptoms
• For essential workers, testing regularly regardless of symptoms
• For anyone who has a concern and wants a test

Keep reading >>