County Adds 109 Cases Overnight, Triple The Limit For Phase Three

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County has seen a triple-digit increase in COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row, a sign that health officials say indicates the county is not yet ready to move into phase three of reopening.

Wednesday's addition — of 109 known infections — pushes the countywide total to 23,926. That's three times higher than the permissible limit county health officials set to move on to phase three.

The county's top health officer, Dr. Travis Gayles, says the county will not enter phase three until officials consistently see low and medium levels of transmission — or 10 to 35 cases a day. Over the last three months, daily COVID-19 cases have hovered between 47 and 171.

The number of people dying daily from COVID-19 — on the other hand — has been between zero and five in recent months.

On Wednesday, Montgomery County recorded three new deaths, which pushes the local death toll to 819.

Another 40 people, health officials believe, had the disease but died before ever getting tested. For now, they are considered "probable deaths" — and won't be added to the official fatality count until they are confirmed by a laboratory test.

Montgomery County — Maryland's most populous jurisdiction — has the highest number of deaths in the state. It also has the second highest number of confirmed cases, after Prince George's County, which has 30,969, according to the latest figures.

Across Maryland, there have been 132,918 cases, 3,877 confirmed deaths, and 145 "probable deaths." Of the 417 people that are currently hospitalized, 113 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).