Coronavirus Holiday Season May Be 'A Little Depressing': Pittman

Jacob Baumgart
Updated ·6 min read

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — A surge in coronavirus cases leaves the upcoming holiday season in limbo. Anne Arundel County leaders discourage large family gatherings and traditional Thanksgiving dinners. They instead suggest hosting as few people as possible and minimizing travel.

"Thinking about these upcoming holidays is a little depressing," County Executive Steuart Pittman said Tuesday at a virtual town hall. "There’s always a way to find good in everything."

Pittman advises residents to move celebrations outside or online. The county executive says his kids have enjoyed reconnecting with distant family members on video calls since the pandemic began. He hopes other families can find similar perks of digital connection this year.

"It kind of sucks," Pittman said of not being able to visit his family. "But we have some beautiful places to visit in this county."

Some of the Anne Arundel County's traditions continue. The Eastport Yacht Club will still organize its annual nautical lights parade. The decorated boats will tour Annapolis' Spa Creek on Dec. 12.

The city still plans to host Midnight Madness, a holiday-themed shopping event, this winter. Streets will be decorated and roads will be closed to cars on the first three Thursdays of December. Downtown shops will stay open until midnight on the first two evenings and til 11 p.m. on the third night.

Annapolis will also host Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, Artist Sunday on Nov. 29 and the First Sunday Arts Holiday Market on Dec. 6. The city canceled its New Year's Eve fireworks display, however.

"There are going to be things to do," Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley said. "They’re only going to be as safe as you make them."

Pittman reminds the county that is always safer to stay home. He wants residents to support local businesses, but he encourages shopping on their websites when possible.

"I’m not going to say 'Just go Amazon' because people have a tendency to do that anyway," Pittman said. "Then, we kill our local businesses, so I really want to encourage people to shop locally as much as you possibly can."

Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman warns locals that coronavirus infections and hospitalizations are spiking. Travel is possible, he says, but residents must remain diligent.

Travelers should check the coronavirus regulations in their destination, Kalyanaraman advises. Visitors are free to come and go in some states, but travel is restricted in others. Marylanders, for example, must self-isolate for two weeks when they head to Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

Kalyanaramn, like most people, misses family parties. This Thanksgiving, he will visit his parents with only his immediate family. He is scaling back his public activity the two weeks prior, however, to minimize the risk of contracting the virus. Kalyanaraman wishes his whole family could come over, but he says the county isn't there yet.

"Unfortunately, that's what COVID loves," Kalyanaraman said. "COVID loves a bunch of people getting together."

Coronavirus Statistics Update

The most recent data clock Anne Arundel County's positivity rate at 3.79 percent, which is 0.08 percent higher than the statewide clip. The county's positivity rate hit its pandemic low of 2.29 percent on Aug. 16. Since jumping to a recent high of 4.45 percent on Sept. 7, the rate has varied.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says municipalities should aim to keep their positivity rate below 5 percent. When counties hit this mark, Maryland health leaders say it is likely safe to return to schools for hybrid instruction.

Though Anne Arundel met the positivity rate recommendation, school officials still started the fall semester with online classes for most students. AACPS previously committed to distance learning for the first two marking periods.

The state challenged AACPS's initial decision to remain online. Hogan then urged schools to start considering a hybrid model. AACPS responded by reaffirming its immediate commitment to remote learning while also speeding up its plans for eventual hybrid classes.

Some students, like those in special education and English language programs, started their year under the hybrid model. Seeing their success, Pittman teased a universal hybrid strategy.

The Board of Education eventually decided to offer hybrid classes to willing elementary schoolers. Pittman initially supported the move, but rising coronavirus metrics forced him to reconsider.

"I’ve been worried that people have just thrown in the towel," Pittman said. "It’s really easy to just get fatigued."

Anne Arundel County has been under the 5 percent benchmark since June 22. The local positivity rate topped out at 28.24 percent on April 16.

While the jurisdiction meets the percent positive guideline, it does not meet the state's infections-per-capita marker. State health officials say municipalities should aim for a case rate of less than five new coronavirus cases-per-day per 100,000 people.

Anne Arundel County's case rate has aligned with Maryland's trends. It hit an initial peak of 13.84 on June 3 before receding to its minimum of 3.53 by June 26.

A second surge spiked Anne Arundel's case rate to its overall peak of 14.26 on Aug. 2. Infections quelled by Aug. 20, dropping the case rate to 6.93.

After a brief downturn, another wave accelerated the county's infections. The case rate hiked to 12.78 on Sept. 18 and quickly fell to 8.56. by Sept. 27

The case rate has since returned to 12.97. That's more than double the state's goal.

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The county must average less than 28.96 new coronavirus infections-per-day over a rolling week to meet the state's per-capita suggestion. Anne Arundel County has averaged 78.14 new cases-per-day during the last seven days.

Anne Arundel has the fifth most coronavirus infections in the state, with 12,115. The virus has killed 263 county residents.

"It’s like these people are invisible," Pittman said. "We often don’t know who they are, and they are dying alone."

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations have seen an upswing recently. Fifty-seven patients were in the hospital Thursday.

The county reported 58 hospitalizations Tuesday. That was the most since June 11.

Anne Arundel had fewer than 50 coronavirus patients in the hospital between June 14 and Oct. 16. Hospitalizations hit a recent low of 21 on Sept. 27. More than 170 people were hospitalized in Anne Arundel County on the pandemic's April 21 peak.

"The end is in sight, but we’ve got to finish the job that we’ve started," Pittman said.

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This article originally appeared on the Annapolis Patch