HOT TOPICS
INFOGRAPHIC: The Role of local health departments in response to a pandemic
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) produced this infographic to highlight the critical role that local health departments play in the effort to protect communities from public health threats like COVID-19, while providing ongoing support, and despite budget and staffing cuts, and pressure to shift resources.
just released: 2019 National Profile of Local Health Departments
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is excited to announce the release of its 2019 National Profile of Local Health Departments. (LHDs)
Findings show that LHDs experienced a loss of 21 percent of their workforce capacity over the past decade, hindering a timely and robust local public health response to COVID-19. In addition, budget shortages have affected LHD emergency preparedness and response programs. In 2019, more than 80 percent of LHDs experienced either a decreased or stagnant preparedness budget compared to the previous fiscal year.
The prolonged lack of financial and human resources allocated to bolstering LHD emergency preparedness work has posed a challenge during the pandemic.
Check out https://www.naccho.org/profile to view the full report.
On July 7, 2020, MACHO and nearly 350 organizations authored a letter to U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar expressing their “deep concern” about increasing reports of resistance to evidence-based public health messages and threats to public health leaders and agencies, urging the Secretary to speak up and amplify the critical role of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and all public health agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and calling on the Secretary to be an advocate for public health. Read the letter.
COVID-19
In December 2019, Chinese health officials announced the first cases of an outbreak caused by a novel coronavirus, which was later named 2019-nCoV, and officially named “COVID-19” by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020. This coronavirus is known to spread person-to-person, and it is believed that most infected people will develop symptoms 2-14 days after exposure. Commonly reported symptoms include a fever, cough, shortness of breath and pneumonia.
There is no vaccine available for this coronavirus, but, in general, people can protect themselves against respiratory viruses by washing their hands frequently with soap and water, covering your nose and mouth with a mask when around others, avoiding close contact, covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning and disenfecting frequently touched surfaces, and monitoring your health daily.
Read more about the ongoing investigation of this outbreak by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For more information and updates on how Maryland is responding, visit the Maryland Department of Health’s COVID-19 outbreak page. And here are additional resources to help keep Marylanders informed and healthy.
If you have questions about COVID-19, the Maryland Department of Health recommends calling 211.
local resources for marylanders
If you are looking for back to school recommendations or tips for staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, your local health department has expert guidance and information for your community.