Coronavirus In Montgomery County: 13,819​​ Cases, 664 Deaths

SILVER SPRING, MD — Confirmed coronavirus cases in Montgomery County ticked up by 110 on Wednesday, to 13,819, while the number of people who died from the disease rose by six, bringing the local death toll to 664.

Another 40, health officials say, likely died from COVID-19 without 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 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 17,611, according to the latest figures.

On Monday, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) announced the county would move into phase two of reopening Friday at 5 p.m.

To date, Montgomery County has met six of its nine benchmarks to begin reopening.

To meet them, health officials say the county must see 14 days of fewer cases, deaths, hospitalizations, patients, and tests on a three-day rolling average. The data calculates a three-day rolling average because of potential outliers, like the occasional 24-hour spikes in the aforementioned metrics.

Benchmarks have been met for:

• The rate at which ICU beds are being used (goal is less than 80 percent)
• The rate at which ventilators are being used (goal is less than 70 percent)
• The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations
• The number of coronavirus-related emergency room patients
• The number of coronavirus-related ICU hospitalizations
• The test positivity rate

The county has seen improvements in the following benchmarks:

• The number of new coronavirus-related cases
  • Met 12 out of 14 days
• The number of new coronavirus-related deaths
  • Met 13 out of 14 days

Unlike Montgomery County, most parts of the state entered phase two last week after Gov. Larry Hogan said he saw a two-week decline in public health benchmarks.

As of Wednesday, Maryland has 62,969 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,866 deaths. Another 130, health officials believe, died from the disease without ever getting tested.

A total of 702 people are being hospitalized for COVID-19. Of that, 283 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), according to state data.