Sept. 14 COVID Cases Three Times Higher Than Allowed For Phase 3

BETHESDA, MD — COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County rose by 114 on Monday, three times higher than the permissible limit county health officials set to move on to phase three.

The latest addition brings the local total to 21,281 infections. The county's top health officer, Dr. Travis Gayles, says the county will not enter phase three until officials consistently see low and medium levels of transmission — or 10 to 35 cases a day. Aside from occasional spikes in new infections (as high as 171) over the last two months, daily cases have plateaued in the 70s and 80s.

Montgomery County is one of the few jurisdictions in the state that hasn't entered phase three.

On Monday, the county did not add any new coronavirus deaths. The death toll remains at 794.

Another 40, 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.

The 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 27,760, according to the latest figures.

Statewide, there have been 116,646 confirmed cases, 3,696 deaths, and 143 "probable deaths." Of the 347 people currently hospitalized, 90 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).