County Records Smallest One-Day Rise In Cases Since November

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County has recorded its smallest one-day increase in COVID-19 cases since November, according to data released Tuesday by the Maryland Department of Health.

In the past 24 hours, the county reported 197 new coronavirus cases, pushing its total to 57,326 since the start of the pandemic. The last time Montgomery County's caseload was lower was on Nov. 28, when there were 189 confirmed infections.

There were 23 days in January when the county had more than 300 cases. The county reached its peak on Jan. 10 with 639 positive tests.

Five more people died from the virus on Tuesday, bringing the local death toll to 1,240. The latest fatality count does not include the 44 others whose deaths were linked to the virus but never confirmed by a lab test. For now, they are considered "probable deaths."

Montgomery County continues to have 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 66,159, according to the latest figures.

Across Maryland, there have been 344,620 coronavirus cases, 6,788 confirmed deaths, and 175 "probable deaths." Of the 1,642 patients being hospitalized for the disease statewide, 367 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).