Local News

Coronavirus Latest: Nearly 2K COVID-19 Cases Reported In Maryland, 31 Deaths

/ CBS Baltimore

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- There are now 1,985 cases of COVID-19 in Maryland, according to the state health department. Thirty-one people have died from COVID-19 in the state as well.

That number increased by more than 300 in one day, which is nearly 20%. On Tuesday, 1,660 cases were reported in the state.

Get the latest numbers here.

Wednesday marked the largest single-day number of both deaths and positive cases in the state since the coronavirus pandemic began.

So far, 17,233 people have tested negative for coronavirus in the state. Of the positive patients, 522 people were hospitalized and 69 patients were released from isolation.

CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: 

Allegany and Dorchester Counties reported their first case Wednesday. Now all 24 jurisdiction in Maryland have a case of coronavirus.

Baltimore City Schools reported a case at Steuart Hill Academic Academy, which was diagnosed after schools had already closed.

There are outbreaks at two health care facilities in Baltimore. At FutureCare Cold Spring nursing home, Baltimore's health commissioner said two of the five people diagnosed with COVID-19 have been hospitalized.

In Baltimore County, there are 7 cases at Loch Raven Center nursing home and two affiliated with Heritage Center in Dundalk.

And there are 6 cases at Frederick Health and Rehabilitation Center.

At Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital in Northwest Baltimore, four patients and one staff member have tested positive and more results are pending.

 

Levindale is operated by LifeBridge Health, which issued the following statement to WJZ:

"The care and safety of our patients, residents and staff is always our top priority. Levindale is a unique facility that offers several types of care, including a long-term residential facility, sub-acute rehabilitation and a specialty hospital, which includes a high-intensity care unit. As of today, we have four confirmed cases of COVID-19: one patient in the specialty hospital and three on our sub-acute rehab unit. From day one, our staff has been following protocols and appropriate precautions in caring for them. We have one staff member who has tested positive and who is recovering at home in quarantine. There are currently no positive COVID-19 cases in residents of the long-term care facility. Since the Governor's March 10 directive, there have been no visitors at Levindale. We have been screening and taking temperatures of employees as they report to work since early March and are working with our infection prevention teams and following CDC and Maryland Department of Health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

On Wednesday morning, Mayor Jack Young issued a familiar warning to citizens.

"This is our chance to save our city. If we 'flatten the curve' now, we can prevent our health care system from getting overwhelmed in a few weeks. I just can't stress this enough, staying at home is literally saving lives," Mayor Young said.

Governor Hogan revealed a deadly outbreak at the Pleasant View Nursing Home in Mount Airy was likely caused by a staff member there.

"One of them somehow who was asymptotic apparently came into the facility and brought the virus in and infected the population, and it went like wildfire," Hogan said during an appearance on C-SPAN.

In an update Wednesday evening, Carroll County Health officials said there had been no new diagnosed cases at Pleasant View. Of the 95 residents, there have been 77 positive cases and 5 deaths.

But Carroll County Health officials did announce new cases at Carroll Lutheran Village—including 3 patients and a staff member.

The governor also announced correctional and health department workers on the front lines are among the state employees who will be getting extra pay: $3.13 an hour.

In addition to the dealing with the health impact, local governments are facing massive budget shortages. They amount to tens of millions of dollars for Baltimore City alone.

"We've written down our fiscal 2020 fiscal year forecast, which is the year we're in that ends on June 30th, by $68.7 million."

Mayor Jack Young again called for the federal government to provide more help to bail out Baltimore and other cash-strapped cities.

"I keep saying that the president, Mr. Trump, needs to bail out cities. They're bailing out large corporations, but no one is talking about backfilling cities."

Breakdown of cases by county:

  • Allegany County: 1
  • Anne Arundel - 158
  • Baltimore City - 221
  • Baltimore County - 289
  • Calvert - 18
  • Caroline - 4
  • Carroll - 96
  • Cecil -16
  • Charles - 56
  • Dorchester - 1
  • Frederick - 35
  • Garrett - 3
  • Harford - 34
  • Howard - 142
  • Kent - 3
  • Montgomery - 447
  • Prince George's - 403
  • Queen Anne's - 7
  • St. Mary's - 19
  • Somerset - 4
  • Talbot - 3
  • Washington - 15
  • Wicomico - 7
  • Worcester - 4

Here is a breakdown by age range:

  • 0-9: 6
  • 10-19: 39
  • 20-29: 252
  • 30-39: 345
  • 40-49: 372
  • 50-59: 396
  • 60-69: 309
  • 70-79: 187
  • 80+: 79

In a press conference Monday, Hogan issued a "stay at home" order for the state to help slow the spread of coronavirus. Officials believe we could peak within the next two weeks and that the National Capital region will look much like New York.

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.

© 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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