Montgomery County Records 98 New Coronavirus Cases, 3 More Deaths

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County reported 98 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing its total to 14,381.

The local death toll, according to state health officials, rose by three to 691. Fatality data doesn't include the 40 others whose deaths were linked to the virus, but never confirmed by a lab test. They are considered "probable deaths."

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 18,249, according to the latest figures.

To date, Montgomery County has met eight of its 10 public health 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.

So far, the region has reached its 14-day benchmarks for:

• The number of new coronavirus-related cases
• The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations
• The number of coronavirus-related ICU hospitalizations
• The rate at which acute beds are being used (goal is less than 70 percent)
• The rate at which ICU beds are being used (goal is less than 80 percent)
• The rate at which ventilators are being used (goal is less than 70 percent)
• The test positivity rate

It has not reached its benchmarks for:

• The number of coronavirus-related emergency room patients
  • Met 13 out of 14 days
• Tests administered in the last 30 days
  • 4 percent (goal is 5 percent)

In a weekly media briefing on Wednesday, County Executive Marc Elrich told reporters that he doesn't have a timeline or a date for Phase Three. The same happened for phases one and two.

"The moment I start talking about timelines, people think I've got a magical timeline for when things will snap into place," the Democrat said.

He went on to explain that the numbers must be lower for the county to move forward, but stopped short of giving any specifics.

"Getting to zero is probably not gonna be possible. But getting to the lowest number that we think is feasible is what we need to make sure there's not a reservoir of infection in the community that can be spread," he said. "There is a point, probably, where the combination of a very low number of cases in the community, as well as our emphasis on social distancing and wearing face coverings, is going to ensure that we don't spread the infections. That's our goal."

The county, one of Maryland's hardest hit jurisdictions, moved into Phase Two of its recovery plan last week. Most of the state, however, entered its second phase in early June.

Across Maryland, health officials are reporting 65,777 confirmed cases and 3,001 deaths. The probable death toll now stands at 128.

There are currently 511 hospitalized coronavirus patients. Of that, 209 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).