Health Department Offers List of Resources to Answer COVID-19 Questions

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department

With each new announcement by President Trump or Governor Hogan, the list of questions from the public continues to grow. What does this mean for my family? Can I go for a walk to help relieve stress?

“We realize this is a very challenging time for everyone, and we all have questions,” said Tiffany Fratz, Director of Personal Health at Garrett County Health Department. “Depending on the nature of your inquiry, we are directing the public to certain information channels. We hope the following will help you find the answers you are seeking.”

Many questions are answered on the Garrett County Health Department’s Frequently Asked Questions page that was recently launched. To access this page, go to bit.ly/covid-19-answers.

Please call 911 only for medical emergencies, not for coronavirus information or questions. Public safety reported a large number of calls that were not emergencies. Tying up a dispatcher with non-emergency calls keeps them from answering other calls that may be about a life-threatening situation.

The Garrett County Health Department established a COVID-19 Hotline to answer questions about symptoms, and other non-emergency medical questions; call the COVID-19 Medical Hotline at 301-334-7698.

Another question many are asking is what essential businesses can remain open during this state of emergency. The website govstatus.egov.com/md-coronavirus-business helps answer this question and offers many other resources, including new COVID-19 business relief programs.

All transient vacation rental units were ordered closed on March 27th. This category includes individually rented properties such as Airbnb and vacation rental by owner, but does not include hotels or motels. For more information about this issue go to bit.ly/healthorders.

For other COVID-19 resources visit the Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard at garretthealth.org/covid-19-information/. This location includes updates about COVID-19 in Garrett County and around the world.