County Shatters Single-Day Record For COVID-19 Infections

BETHESDA, MD — Faced with rising hospitalizations and limited treatment options, Montgomery County shattered its single-day record for new COVID-19 infections on Friday — a troubling sign as residents head into the holidays.

The county, which is home to roughly 1 million people, recorded 631 new infections on Friday. That pushes the total number of cases since the pandemic began to 35,056. The last time Montgomery County's daily case count was higher was on May 19, when there were 533 confirmed infections reported, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

On Friday, health officials recorded five new deaths tied to COVID-19, bringing the local death toll to 933. 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."

Like elsewhere across the nation, the county is seeing a rising tide of hospitalizations. As of Friday, 19.9 percent of hospital beds were occupied by patients with the virus. By the county's standard, anything above 15 percent means there is a "very high risk of transmission."

Here's a snapshot:

County Executive Marc Elrich (D) issued his weekly message to residents on Thursday, saying "the situation will likely get much worse."

"Unfortunately, as we head into the winter and holidays, our numbers are not looking good, and the situation will likely get much worse," Elrich said. "Our hospitals are in jeopardy of experiencing significant increases in COVID-19 cases that will put a strain on their capacity and staffing."

As he has said before, Elrich told residents that it's up to them to curb the spread of COVID-19 — which includes wearing a face mask, keeping at least six feet of distance from others, and regularly washing your hands with soap and water.

"The virus is continuing to spread and it's our responsibility to slow it down. We know that until a vaccine is available, the only thing we can do to control it is in our own behavior," he said. "We heard ... that the initial allocation of vaccines that are coming to Maryland will only be enough for about half of our public health workers, and it will be much longer before the rest of us can get a vaccine — most likely late spring."

Each vaccine hopeful, made by Pfizer and Moderna, has submitted its emergency-use application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA could clear both in the coming weeks. Whenever the first batch of immunizations is okayed, Maryland will get about 155,000 doses.

It will take time to ramp up vaccine production, but Gov. Larry Hogan (R) hopes to secure 300,000 doses by the end of the year.

Every recipient needs two shots, separated by three or four weeks. Maryland will administer the vaccines based on need. Health care workers and people in assisted living facilities will get the shots first.

As of Friday, Maryland has the 26th-highest number of cases in the U.S, according to a New York Times database. Since the outbreak emerged in March, Maryland has recorded 209,191 cases, 4,630 confirmed deaths, and 160 "probable deaths."

Of the 1,594 people currently being hospitalized statewide, 367 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

SEE ALSO:

• Nearly 4,000 COVID-19 Kits To Be Distributed In Montgomery County
  
• MD Breaks Daily Coronavirus Case Count, Test Records
• MD Will Get 155K Coronavirus Vaccines In 1st Wave, Hogan Explains
  
• Fewer MD Workers Sought Jobless Aid Last Week Amid COVID-19 Surge