For Third Time This Month, County Tops 500 New COVID-19 Cases

BETHESDA, MD — For the third time this month, Montgomery County's COVID-19 case count surpassed 500.

The county recorded 513 new cases on Wednesday, according to the Maryland Department of Health, pushing the local total since March to 48,864 infections. The last time Montgomery County's daily case count was higher was on Jan. 4, when there were 514 confirmed infections reported, according to official public health data.

"This is not a good number," County Executive Marc Elrich said on Wednesday. "This is about 10 times higher than we were in the lower points in August and late July."

Since entering phase two of its reopening plan in June, the county has seen a sharp uptick in positive cases. From July 21 to Aug. 31, cases hovered between 47 and 171. The county reached its peak on Dec. 4, with 631 cases.

Here's a closer look:

In the past 24 hours, 10 more people have died from COVID-19. The county's death toll now stands at 1,114.

Forty-three others, health officials say, may have had the virus, but died before ever getting tested. For now, they are considered "probable deaths." They won't be added to the official fatality count until confirmatory lab tests are performed.

Montgomery County — which is home to roughly 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 57,286, according to the latest figures.

Across Maryland, there have been 292,904 coronavirus cases, 5,960 confirmed deaths, and 172 "probable deaths." Of the 1,862 patients being hospitalized for the disease statewide, 444 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).