MoCo Sees Smallest Daily Increase In COVID-19 Cases Since March

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County saw Monday its smallest daily increase in coronavirus cases since late March.

The Maryland Department of Health is now reporting 15,163 positive infections in Montgomery County. That's an increase of 34 cases — or 0.22 percent — over the prior day.

On Monday, health officials recorded four more deaths from the disease. The local death toll now stands at 715. Another 38, health officials believe, likely had COVID-19 but died without ever getting tested. They are classified as "probable deaths" — and won't be added to the official fatality count until a lab test can confirm the cause of death.

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 19,040, according to the latest figures.

The two hardest hit jurisdictions only entered phase two of their respective reopening plans in mid-June. A majority of the state moved into the second stage of Gov. Larry Hogan's recovery plan in early June after seeing consistent declines in coronavirus infections, deaths, and hospitalizations.

Even as Montgomery County is now seeing more improvements in its reopening benchmarks, County Executive Marc Elrich is putting phase three on hold. Last week, the Democrat said he wouldn't announce a reopening date until he knew there weren't any surges tied to Independence Day celebrations.

Given the incubation period for COVID-19, an announcement may not come for another two weeks.

To date, the county has met or made improvements in eight of its 10 reopening benchmarks. Local leaders use those metrics as a guide for when and how to reopen.

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.

The county has met or made improvements in:

• The number of new coronavirus-related deaths
  • Met 13 out of 14 days
• The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations
  • Met 14 out of 14 days
• The number of coronavirus-related ICU hospitalizations
  • Met 14 out of 14 days
• The rate at which acute beds are being used
  • Reporting 66 percent; goal is less than 70 percent
• The rate at which ICU beds are being used
  • Reporting 50 percent; goal is less than 80 percent
• The rate at which ventilators are being used
  • Reporting 31 percent; goal is less than 70 percent
• The test positivity rate
  • Reporting 5 percent; goal is 5 percent
• Tests administered in the last 30 days
  • Reporting 4.4 percent; goal is 5 percent)

It has not reached its benchmarks for:

• The number of new coronavirus-related cases
  • Met 9 out of 14 days
• The number of coronavirus-related emergency room patients
  • Met 10 out of 14 days

Across Maryland, there have been 69,904 coronavirus cases, 3,121 confirmed deaths, and 125 "probable deaths." Of the 403 patients being hospitalized for the disease statewide, 142 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).