Anne Arundel County Officials Report Increase In COVID Case Rate

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Anne Arundel County officials reported an increase in their COVID case rate and hospitalizations Tuesday.

County Executive Steuart Pittman said although there's been a increase, he says it's not the same as what the county saw last year.

"Johns Hopkins was saying that we may have more COVID patients than we actually have hospital beds, which would have been catastrophic scenario," Pittman said. "So we act and we had stronger restrictions in the state and state acted as well."

He said although the case rate went down to 13 it's now back up to 19.

Both acute and ICU hospitalizations have also increased, and ICU capacity is at 70%.

Pittman said although some residents are questioning his and Gov. Larry Hogan's decision to lift capacity limits on restaurants and other businesses, that he still believes the right action was taken. He said the major difference this year is that people are being vaccinated.

Watch the press conference below:

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.

In:
• Maryland
• COVID-19
• Anne Arundel County