County Coronavirus Deaths Surpass 500 As Elrich Waits To Reopen

BETHESDA, MD — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Montgomery County surpassed 9,400 on Friday, according to Maryland health officials, while the death toll from the disease has topped 500.

As the state's most populous jurisdiction, Montgomery County now has a total of 9,432 cases. That's an increase of 172 positive infections from the previous day.

The local death toll now stands at 502. A day earlier, it was 491.

Another 38 people may have died from COVID-19, but were never tested, according to health officials. The state will not add those deaths to the official tally until a laboratory can confirm the virus was the cause of death.

The county, which is home to roughly 1.1 million residents, 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 13,077, according to the latest figures.

Statewide, there have been 44,424 confirmed cases and 2,092 deaths. An additional 115, health officials believe, may have had COVID-19, but died without ever being tested.

To date, 183,478 people have tested negative for the disease and 3,243 have been released from isolation. Of the 1,329 coronavirus hospital patients currently receiving treatment, 506 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan lifted his stay-at-home order on May 15, after saying he saw a 14-day downward trend in hospitalizations and deaths.

The Republican governor acknowledged that some parts of the state, like Montgomery County, were not ready to reopen, and let local jurisdictions decide when to lift their coronavirus restrictions.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich says he won't reopen the county until he sees:

• A consistent decline over a 14-day period in new cases as more testing is conducted
• A sustained decrease in the number of daily deaths
• A downward trend in hospitalizations rates (and ICU beds in use)
• A sustained decrease in the number of COVID-19 patients going to the ER

On Wednesday, the county began releasing coronavirus stats for its reopening benchmarks.

Here's a closer look:

Montgomery County Testing Sites

On Friday, Montgomery County opened three new testing sites at CVS Pharmacy. Self-swab tests are reserved for people who meet the CDC's coronavirus testing criteria. Patients must register in advance at CVS.com to schedule an appointment.

The CVS drive-thru sites are located at:

• 7809 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda
• 799 Rockville Pike, Rockville
• 12215 Darnestown Rd., Gaithersburg

Other drive-thru test sites in Montgomery County are located in Wheaton, White Oak, and Germantown.

Here's what you need to know about the facilities and testing process:

• They are not an on-demand testing sites (appointments are required)
• To determine if you qualify for testing:
  • You must meet coronavirus testing criteria as determined by a licensed health care provider (the provider will fill out an online order for testing through Maryland's CRISP information system)
• Once the form is sent, you'll be given instructions on how to make an appointment online
• Appointments will be confirmed and an ID number will be provided
• Bring your photo ID and appointment number to the testing site

More information about testing can be found here.