Infections Near Springtime Highs In Prince George's County

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Coronavirus infections are nearing their springtime levels in Prince George's. The county tallied 2,499 infections in the last reported week.

That was Prince George's highest clip since the week of May 3. It was also the county's third most prolific week in the pandemic.

The virus killed 16 more Prince Georgians last week. Hospitalizations are once again trending upward.

A plateauing positivity rate offers a some hope, however. Here is a look at the county's coronavirus situation as residents prepare for Thanksgiving.

Coronavirus Case Rate

Health officials focus on several metrics to evaluate the coronavirus pandemic. The most frequently-used are the case rate, hospitalizations and percent positivity.

The case rate is a per-capita measure that makes it easy to compare places with different populations.

A jurisdiction's case rate is the average number of new coronavirus infections-per-day that it registers over a rolling week per 100,000 people.

As a barometer, Maryland health officials say expanded in-person classes are probably safe when the local case rate dips below 5. Prince George's County's case rate has spiked to 38.18.

That's the county's steepest mark since its overall high of 38.85 on May 7. Prince George's reached lows of 7.57 on July 2 and 9.96 on Sept. 25, but it's been an upward climb since then.

Hospitalizations

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations have also pointed upward. They are down from their high of 244 in the week of May 3, but hospitalizations are growing quickly.

The disease left 132 people hospitalized in Prince George's County in the last reported week. That's up 40 from the week prior, and it's the most since the week of May 31. Hospitalizations hit an overall low of 44 in the week of Sept. 20.

Covid ActNow, a coronavirus statistics website, estimates that Prince George's County has 122 beds in the intensive care unit. Hospitals need to save some of these beds for emergencies that aren't related to coronavirus.

Last week, Prince George's had 40 patients in the ICU with the virus. That is the most since the week of June 14. ICU hospitalizations maxed out at 69 in the week of May 3 and receded to 11 by the week of Aug. 2.

Positivity Rate

The county's positivity rate has plateaued over the past week. This is the percentage of coronavirus tests that come back positive over a moving seven days. The statistic also measures whether an area has enough tests to identify most of its infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a positivity rate of less than 5 percent demonstrates that a region has enough testing to control its outbreak. The Maryland Department of Health says hybrid learning should be safe when jurisdictions fall beneath this benchmark.

Prince George's County's positivity rate sits at 7.99 percent, which is .02 percent higher than last week. Wednesday's 8.56 percent positivity was the highest since June 21.

That's down from its May 2 high of 41.95 percent, but it's up from its Sept. 24 low of 3.46 percent.

Total Cases And Deaths

Prince George's County's 38,985 coronavirus infections are the most in the state. The virus is blamed for the death of 882 county residents.

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