Montgomery's Coronavirus Cases Top 11K; Reopening Starts June 1

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County has recorded 11,035 coronavirus cases as of Friday, according to the Maryland Health Department, with the death toll reaching 555.

That's an increase of 283 confirmed cases and 13 deaths from the previous day — and an increase of 1,603 cases and 53 deaths from a week ago.

Health officials are also reporting 40 "probable deaths" in Montgomery County, meaning the death certificate lists COVID-19 as a cause of death, but a laboratory test is still needed to confirm it.

On Thursday, County Executive Marc Elrich announced that the county will be moving into phase one of reopening on June 1. Phase one of the plan includes reopening restaurants for outdoor dining, allowing barbershops and hair salons to serve customers by appointment only, and limiting the number of children and counselors at outdoor day camps.

While it's welcome news to many businesses and families, some criticized the county executive for not reopening fast enough.

Protesters — some not wearing face masks and at least one other donning a #ReopenMaryland shirt — hurled insults at the Democrat as he laid out the county's reopening plans on Thursday.

"Fascist!" a protester yelled out.

"Nazi!" another one shouted.

Digging in his heels, Elrich explained to protesters that the county has one of the highest case loads and wasn't ready to reopen with the rest of Maryland earlier this month.

On May 15, Gov. Larry Hogan lifted coronavirus restrictions in the state, but allowed harder hit jurisdictions — like Montgomery and Prince George's counties — to delay reopening.

Montgomery 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 14,773, according to the latest figures.

To date, Maryland has 50,988 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,348 deaths. Another 118, health officials believe, had COVID-19 but died without ever being tested.

There are 1,296 coronavirus patients currently hospitalized in Maryland. Of that, 507 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Here's how Montgomery County stacks up to other jurisdictions in Maryland:

Confirmed Infections, Deaths By County

A case count by jurisdiction can be found below. Montgomery County is outlined in bright blue.

Note: For the table below, a number with an asterisk represents a "probable death."

Case Count By ZIP Code

These are the ZIP codes with the highest coronavirus case counts in Maryland Friday:

• Montgomery County (20906) — 1,236 cases
• Prince George's County (20706) — 1,004 cases
• Prince George's County (20737) — 747 cases
• Baltimore City (21224) — 888 cases
• Montgomery County (20904) — 825 cases
• Prince George's County (20782) — 819 cases
• Montgomery County (20902) — 1,236 cases
• Prince George's County (20784) — 888 cases
• Montgomery County (20902) — 982 cases

Percent Positive Testing By County