Student-Athletes, Staff At AACPS Must Prove They've Been Vaccinated Or Be Tested For COVID

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — All high school student-athletes and employees with Anne Arundel County Public Schools must prove they've been vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing starting Nov. 22.

AACPS Superintendent George Arlotto has expressed preference for a "vaccination or testing model" to be used by the district, which has been working with the Anne Arundel County Department of Health throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

“We still need to finalize some parts of the plan, but announcing an effective date now allows our employees and families of our high school students to begin to either gather the necessary information or become fully vaccinated by Nov. 22 if they choose to do so,” Arlotto said in a news release.

The district initially intended to require proof of vaccination or weekly COVID-19 tests for employees only, but included student-athletes as the number of positive COVID-19 cases and the number of people in quarantine rose dramatically in recent weeks.

"Student-athletes already undergo health screenings to ensure they are fit to compete. Requiring vaccinations or testing among student-athletes will help ensure that AACPS can continue full competitive seasons in the winter and spring," Arlotto said.

Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman emphasized that “vaccinations are the single most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones."

“The goal of our collaborative efforts is to keep our schools open and this is a key step towards doing exactly that," Kalyanaraman said in the news release.

The process for submitting vaccination certifications and a weekly testing protocol will be announced by mid-October. The school system also is finalizing a contract with a vendor to provide surveillance testing of unvaccinated students whose families provide consent to do so.

Testing for symptomatic students and staff has been available in school health rooms since last spring.

As of Monday, Anne Arundel County has had a total of 49,394 positive new coronavirus cases and 695 deaths, according to the Anne Arundel County Health Department. The state has 520,236 confirmed cases and 10,035 deaths total, reports the Maryland Department of Health.

The following zip codes have the highest confirmed case counts in Anne Arundel County as of Sept. 20:

• Pasadena (21122) has 5,316 total cases
• Glen Burnie (21061) has 5,120 total cases
• Glen Burnie (21060) has 3,341 total cases
• Annapolis (21401) has 3,001 total cases
• Severn (21144) has 2,916 total cases
• Annapolis (21403) has 2,767 total cases
• Odenton (21113) has 2,337 total cases
• Severna Park (21146) has 1,823 total cases
• Laurel (20724) has 1,726 total cases
• Crofton (21114) has 1,625 total cases

The county health department has its own website created to monitor the situation, broken down by new cases per day and other data.