County Tops 200 New COVID-19 Cases For The Fifth Time This Month

BETHESDA, MD — For the fifth time this month, Montgomery County's daily COVID-19 case count surpassed 200.

The county recorded 239 new cases on Friday, according to the Maryland Department of Health, pushing the local total to 28,385 infections.

In the last 24 hours, two more people have died from COVID-19. The county's death toll now stands at 862.

Forty-one others, health officials say, may have had the virus but died before ever getting tested. For now, they are considered "probable deaths." They won't be added to the official fatality count until they are confirmed by a lab test.

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 35,666, according to the latest figures.

Across Maryland, there have been 161,769 coronavirus cases, 4,124 confirmed deaths, and 149 "probable deaths." Of the 914 patients being hospitalized for the disease statewide, 208 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).