County Adds 180 Cases, 5 Deaths To Coronavirus Totals: May 26

ROCKVILLE, MD — The Maryland Health Department on Tuesday reported five more coronavirus deaths and 180 new cases in Montgomery County, bringing the local death toll to 531 and the total number of cases to 10,291.

Another 36, health officials believe, had COVID-19 but died before ever being tested. "Probable deaths" aren't included in the official fatality count until they are confirmed by a laboratory test.

The county, which is home to roughly 1.1 million residents, has 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 13,819, according to the latest figures.

Statewide, 47,687 people have tested positive for the disease, 3,334 have been released from isolation, and 2,217 have died from COVID-19. The virus, health officials say, may have killed another 116 people, but a lab test is needed to confirm their cause of death.

Currently, 1,315 people are being hospitalized for COVID-19, according to state data. Of those, 520 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan lifted his stay-at-home order on May 15, after saying he saw a 14-day downward trend in hospitalizations and deaths.

The Republican governor acknowledged that some parts of the state, like Montgomery County, were not ready to reopen, and let local jurisdictions decide when to lift their coronavirus restrictions.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich says he won't reopen the county until he sees:

• A consistent decline over a 14-day period in new cases as more testing is conducted
• A sustained decrease in the number of daily deaths
• A downward trend in hospitalizations rates (and ICU beds in use)
• A sustained decrease in the number of COVID-19 patients going to the ER

Data for those benchmarks can be found on the county's online coronavirus dashboard — which is updated daily around 2 p.m.

According to County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles, the data calculates a three-day rolling average and the number of days in the past two weeks that saw improvement.

Gayles says the county is looking at three-day averages to track trends because of potential outliers, like the occasional 24-hour spikes in cases, deaths, and hospitalizations.

Here's how the county is doing, as of Tuesday: