MoCo Coronavirus Cases Hit 17,397 As MD Hospitalizations Rise

BETHESDA, MD — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Montgomery County increased by 92 to 17,397, according to state data released Thursday.

Meanwhile, two more people have died from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, pushing the local death toll to 750.

The fatality count does not include the 39 others whose deaths were linked to the virus, but never confirmed by a lab test. They are considered "probable deaths" — and will not be added to the official total until a lab can confirm the cause of death.

The county — which is home to roughly 1.1 million residents — 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 22,183, according to the latest figures.

Montgomery County is using 10 public health benchmarks as a guide for reopening. To date, the county has met, or is close to meeting, six of those benchmarks.

To meet them, health officials say the county must see 14 days of fewer cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and patients on a three-day rolling average. The data calculates a three-day rolling average because of potential outliers, like the occasional 24-hour spikes in the aforementioned metrics.

According to the latest data posted Wednesday, the region has reached its 14-day benchmarks for:

• The number of coronavirus-related ICU hospitalizations
• The rate at which ICU beds are being used (goal is less than 80 percent)
  • Reporting 50 percent (three-day average)
• The rate at which ventilators are being used (goal is less than 70 percent)
  • Reporting 21 percent (three-day average)
• The test positivity rate
• The testing capacity rate
  • Reporting 7.8 percent in the last 30 days

It has not reached its benchmarks for:

• The number of new coronavirus-related cases
  • Met 4 out of 14 days
• The number of new coronavirus-related deaths
  • Met 8 out of 14 days
• The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations
  • Met 9 out of 14 days
• The number of coronavirus-related emergency room patients
  • Met 6 out of 14 days
• The rate at which acute beds are being used
  • Met 6 out of 14 days

Across Maryland, there have been 87,177 coronavirus cases, 3,357 confirmed deaths, and 131 "probable deaths." Of the 585 patients being hospitalized for the disease statewide, 139 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations have been steadily rising in Maryland since mid-July.

On Wednesday, 27 more people were admitted to hospitals, officials said. That marks the highest day-to-day increase in hospitalizations due to the virus since July 15, when authorities reported 32 people had been hospitalized in the past day.

Thursday's increase stands at 14.

Here's a closer look: