Health & Fitness
County Sees Second Highest One-Day Increase In Cases Since March
Montgomery County recorded 544 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, its second largest one-day rise in infections since the pandemic started.
ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County has recorded its second-highest number of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in March, public health records show.
In the past 24 hours, the county reported 544 new cases, pushing its total to 37,738 infections. The last time the daily caseload was higher was on Dec. 4, when there were 631 confirmed infections.
On Thursday, the county added two new deaths, bringing its death toll to 958. The latest fatality count does not include the 44 others whose deaths were linked to the virus but never confirmed by a lab test. For now, they are considered "probable deaths."
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Montgomery County's case rate per 100,000 — a metric officials use to determine community spread — reached its highest point ever on Thursday, according to public health data.
The new seven-day average case rate is 45 per 100,000 residents. Ten is the threshold at which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers a region to be at high risk for coronavirus transmission.
Find out what's happening in Bethesda-Chevy Chasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Between June 17 and Oct. 13, the case rate hovered between 6.3 and 9.4 — which, by the county's standard — poses a moderate transmission risk.
Facing a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, County Executive Marc Elrich said on Wednesday that he wanted to suspend all indoor dining and limit capacity in retail establishments.
The restrictions are all part of Elrich's new executive order, which he has sent to the Montgomery County Council for approval. If approved, the restrictions will go into effect on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
"My cases per 100,000 are six, seven, eight times as high as they were this summer," Elrich said. "In the face of rising cases, we cannot wait, because the virus won't wait."
Statewide, the case rate is 45.6 per 100,000 people. Since the pandemic began, Maryland has recorded 225,855 cases, 4,850 confirmed deaths, and 162 "probable deaths."
Of the 1,720 patients being hospitalized for the disease in Maryland, 416 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
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