Maryland posts fifth consecutive day of 1,000-plus COVID-19 cases

Phil Davis, The Baltimore Sun
·3 min read

BALITIMORE — Maryland health officials reported more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases for the fifth consecutive day Sunday as the state's positivity rate rose again despite more than 51,000 doses of the available vaccines being administered over the past 24 hours.

In addition, the Maryland Department of Health is reporting an additional increase in the number of people hospitalized due to the disease as officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they’re worried about the national trend of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across the country.

Here’s how the metrics break down:

CASES

State health officials reported 1,335 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the past 24 hours, bringing the state total up to 408,044 cases since officials began tracking the virus in March 2020.

It’s the fifth consecutive day that Maryland has reported more than 1,000 new cases as March has seen officials report an uptick in the infection rate across the state. The increase is still well below the peak Maryland saw in January, when the state was reporting nearly 3,000 cases a day across a two-week stretch following the holiday season.

However, the state has seen an increase in average daily cases since mid-March, as it had not reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day between Feb. 19 and March 13.

DEATHS

Health officials reported five more people died due to complications from COVID-19, bringing the total up to 8,066 Marylanders since the state began tracking the disease in March 2020.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

Maryland reported an increase of 23 people hospitalized with the coronavirus, bringing the total number up to 970.

Since March 18, the state health department has reported an increase of 172 patients hospitalized with the disease.

TESTING POSITIVITY

The statewide testing positivity rate rose slightly to 4.7% from 4.58% on Saturday. The rate, which measures the percentage of positive tests over the past seven days, had somewhat leveled out in recent days.

However, the state has seen its average positivity rate raise more than 1 percentage point since the beginning of March to coincide with the increase in daily cases.

The counties of Anne Arundel (6.14%), Baltimore (5.21%), Calvert (5.05%), Caroline (5.27%), Carroll (6.08%), Cecil (5.56%), Charles (6.43%), Frederick (5.44%), Harford (7.77%), Prince George’s (5.07%), Washington (7.25%) and Wicomico (6.04%) are all above the state average. The World Health Organization recommends places achieve a positivity rate below 5% before relaxing coronavirus restrictions.

The state health department reported that 34,462 tests were completed statewide in the past 24 hours.

VACCINATIONS

Health officials administered 51,256 total doses of the coronavirus vaccines over the past 24 hours, the state reported Sunday, as Maryland eclipsed more than 2.5 million total doses since December.

Gov. Larry Hogan wrote on Twitter that the state has averaged 49,713 doses of the vaccines administered daily over the past week. He also cited CDC data on the rate of vaccinations among certain age demographics, which differs from the state health department’s reported rates.

According to the state, 21,799 people were reported to have been fully vaccinated against the virus by either receiving their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna versions of the vaccine or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot. Additionally, 29,457 people received their first dose of the two-dose regimens on Saturday, according to the state health department.

As of Sunday, 14.88% of Maryland residents, or 877,651 people, have been fully inoculated against the coronavirus, according to the state health department. More than a quarter of Marylanders, about 27.02%, have received at least their first dose of the vaccine, state health officials reported.

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