Around Maryland

Following a holiday break that saw a rapid COVID-19 spike across the state, around 18,100 students from 29 public schools in Maryland were in virtual learning as of last week, according to new data from the Maryland State Department of Education. These students represent a small portion of the more than 881,000 students enrolled in Maryland public schools but are more than were learning remotely in the fall.

COVID-19 testing is well underway for thousands of Baltimore City school students and staff members ahead of a districtwide return to campus Thursday. More than 21,000 Baltimore City high school students will be among the first to get tested Wednesday morning, but as it turns out, some started getting in line a day early.

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education voted 7-1 on Wednesday evening to waive quarantine requirements for asymptomatic students who have come into contact with a COVID-19 case, a move that should reduce the number of students who are at home and away from the classroom, according to Superintendent George Arlotto. Right now 2,438 students are in quarantine in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, missing in-person classes despite never experiencing symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19 in some cases.

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept into Maryland, health departments scrambled to set up testing centers where people could go to get swabbed for the viral infection. The sites often had long lines but were open most days. After vaccines for the coronavirus became available, many of those sites transitioned into inoculation centers that also offered testing, but many of those sites scaled back or closed as more and more Marylanders got vaccinated.

With COVID-19 cases again on the rise and a new strain emerging, those in public health are urging all U.S. adults to get booster shots of the vaccine. But another group — people who never came back for their second dose — is getting less attention. At least 6.5% of the more than 4 million vaccinated Marylanders haven’t returned for the second shot of the two-dose regimen on the recommended timeline, an analysis of state data by The Baltimore Sun shows. The shots are typically scheduled three or four weeks apart, respectively, for the most widely used vaccines: Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

Baltimore will offer public internet access inside and outside recreation centers and install an additional 100 community Wi-Fi hot spots with a $6 million investment in federal funding announced by Mayor Brandon Scott on Tuesday. The funding, which is the city’s latest allocation from a $641 million pot of money from the American Rescue Plan, will be used to run fiber to 23 recreation centers, allowing residents to access the internet from the surrounding area.