Howard County Partners With Johns Hopkins, Quality Alert To Improve COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing, Antibody Research

SAVAGE, Md. (WJZ) -- Howard County officials announced two partnerships Monday that will help them improve diagnostic testing for COVID-19 and also antibody research.

County Executive Calvin Ball announced a partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab to collaborate in the "analysis and understanding of infectious diseases and the use of emerging technologies in treatment and prevention."

The lab will review the county's technology and make recommendations about the efficacy of that technology to address infectious disease.

They will first be looking at serology testing and the use of air filtration systems that use high-intensity UV to kill or neutralize bacteria and virus particles.

The county is also partnering with Quality First Urgent Care to operate a diagnostic drive-through coronavirus testing site at the Savage Volunteer Fire Department Monday through Saturday.

"Howard County has tested nearly 8% of our population, but our new goal is to reach at least 10%. Our partnership with Quality First Urgent Care allows us to deploy more accessible testing to Howard County residents, who will not need an appointment or doctor's orders," said Ball. "We're also looking forward to our partnership with Johns Hopkins APL, an organization that consistently leads with innovation. As we prepare our residents and business community for the length of this pandemic, this collaboration will help to identify emerging technologies that will better position Howard County to combat COVID-19."