Letter to State Leaders: Maryland Must Do More in Response to the Pandemic 

The Coronavirus has affected every community and county in our state and the delta variant has dealt yet another blow during the late summer months especially in rural areas of the state. A large percentage of residents are experiencing devastating health and economic consequences, especially in communities of color. More than 10,000 Marylanders have lost their lives. We are concerned about the many people and families across our state who continue to struggle and suffer, especially those now facing possible eviction. 

This is not the time to let up on the response or to let down our guard. We need you to expand and improve the state's response to this health and economic crisis. You should use the power and tools at your disposal to enact emergency measures where needed: to protect workers and renters, to ramp up staffing and human capacity in state and local government agencies to help provide critical services, and to help manage the distribution of the Federal aid dollars we're receiving. 

Every resident needs to have easy access to the vaccine, to adequate housing, food, health care, and the basic necessities for economic security. We hope you will work to make sure that everyone is vaccinated, safe in their home, work, and school settings, financially secure and able to receive the health care they need to recover from COVID. 

We the undersigned Marylanders urge you to:

• Increase vaccination education and outreach efforts by resourcing local governments and funding partnerships with community and faith organizations.
• Ensure strong public health measures that are consistent, clear, broad based and uniform in order to protect lives and decrease the chance of spikes in community transmission.
• Scale up testing sites and consider Ohio-style mass distribution of free tests. 
• Ensure that no one is evicted or foreclosed on. Provide  access to legal counsel and other tenant supporting aid.
• Ensure that anyone who needs it can get the health care and health services they need no matter their status, age, location, income or health condition.
• Expand systems and programs around the state that can care for and treat Long COVID patients.
• Devote the resources and make a pledge to address and eliminate the racial disparities in our healthcare and education systems.
• Increase funding and resources for a full range of mental health services, especially for young people and other vulnerable populations.
• Ensure paid sick days are available to all workers. Help small businesses provide this benefit by allocating COVID recovery funds to help cover the cost of PTO. 
• Extend unemployment benefits and fix  the Unemployment Insurance system. 
• Listen to concerns and meet the demands of the union members and leaders representing public employees and essential workers when it comes to pay, benefits, staffing levels, and workplace safety. 
• Work more closely with teachers, school staff and students to create the best, safest conditions for the return to school.
• Invest in and expand the availability of affordable childcare. 
• Engage more community members and groups in vaccination efforts and in the  process of planning the blueprint for a just and equitable pandemic recovery. 
• Expedite the distribution  of millions in federal aid dollars coming into the state. 

Thank you for your work and service during this crisis. The state has done some things well and helped to minimize the damage of the coronavirus. But this is an unprecedented crisis and much more must be done. Maryland is a wealthy state and we have received generous Federal funding that can be used to expand vital services and shore up the social safety net that all of us and so many Marylanders support. Please strengthen the state's response. We can recover fully and build back better if we invest in our residents and respond to all the needs of our communities.  

Signed By: