The county’s number of cases increased 0.53% on Thursday; state increase was 1.03%
By Dan Schere
The | Published:
COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County have continued to increase this month at a rate of less than 1% per day.
The county has had 17,397 cases through Thursday morning, an increase of 0.53% from the previous day. The county has extended its streak of consecutive days with an increase of less than 1% to 23.
Montgomery County also added two confirmed deaths Thursday, bringing the death toll to 750.
The county has had 39 deaths that are considered “probable,” meaning coronavirus is listed as the cause on a death certificate, but that was not confirmed by laboratory testing.
COVID-19 cases in Maryland rose to 87,177 on Thursday, an increase of 1.03% in one day. Cases have increased statewide at a higher rate than in the county. The state increase has been more than 1% in nine days since July 14.
Statewide, there have been 3,357 confirmed deaths from the virus.
Montgomery County officials are using certain metrics to help determine how and when the county should expand its reopening. Those benchmarks are updated at 2 pm every day.
Until the middle of this month, county officials used color-coded numbers to indicate whether each metric was met, whether progress was shown or not.
Eight of the 10 benchmarks were consistently met until July 12. But that number has decreased in the following weeks.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the county data panel displayed the following data for each benchmark:
● COVID-19 related hospitalizations: 90 (three-day average); nine decreasing days
● Hospitalizations related to the intensive care unit related to COVID-19: 25 (three-day average); 14 decreasing days
● Bed utilization rate of the ICU unit: 50% (three-day average); county goal of 80% or less has been met for 14 days
● Percentage of fans in use: 21% (three-day average); The county goal of 70% or less has been met for 14 days.
● Test positivity: 3.6% (three-day average); 14 decreasing days
● Tests administered: 3,234 (three-day average); county testing capacity is 7.8% for last 30 days
● Number of new confirmed cases: 95 (three-day average); four decreasing days
● Number of new COVID-19 related deaths: 1 (three-day average); eight decreasing days
● Number of emergency room patients related to COVID-19: 4 (three-day average); six decreasing days
● Acute care bed utilization rate: 70% (three-day average); The county goal of 70% or less has been met for six days.
Across Maryland, more than 1.18 million tests have been administered, with a positivity rate of 4.57%.
Of the 585 people currently hospitalized with the virus in the state, 446 are in acute care and 139 are in intensive care.
Dan Schere can be contacted at [email protected]
