COVID-19 In Maryland: Hospitalizations And Positivity Rate Continue To Fall
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The number of Marylanders hospitalized with COVID-19 and the statewide positivity rate continue to fall, according to data released Thursday by the Maryland Department of Health.
With hospitalizations falling by 20 over the past 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 patients in Maryland hospitals stands at 657. That's down more than 80% from last month's peak of 3,462 patients.
Of those currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maryland, 508 are adults in acute care and 139 are adults in intensive care. Nine children are in acute care and one is in the ICU.
The positivity rate dipped by 0.14% to 3.37%, down from last month's high when the positivity rate flirted with the 30% mark.
As Maryland's key health metrics continue to show signs of improvement, state and local officials have begun rolling back safety measures that were put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday that masks will no longer be required inside state buildings beginning next week. Mask requirements are also being dropped for government buildings in Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties.
Additionally, Hogan also calling for education officials to lift the state's school mask mandate, a policy change the state Board of Education said it will evaluate at next week's meeting.
On Wednesday night, the Anne Arundel County Board of Education voted 8–0 to remove the mask mandate from its public schools.
Maryland added 751 more COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours. On Wednesday, the state added 24,800 reinfections dating back to September to the tally. The total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began now stands at 995,328.
A total of 13,720 Marylanders have died since the start of the pandemic, following an increase of 15 deaths since Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Maryland emerged from a 30-day state of emergency issued by Hogan in response to a COVID-19 surge that pushed hospitals to capacity levels. Yet healthcare leaders say hospitals still face nursing shortages.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 95% of Maryland's adult population has gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. When including residents between the ages of 5 and 17, 89.8% of the populations has gotten at least one shot.
There are 4,446,736 Marylanders fully vaccinated. The state has administered 11,246,466 doses of the vaccine.
Of those, 4,674,226 are first doses, 2,442 in the last 24 hours. Another 4,113,031 are second doses, 2,902 in the past day. A total of 333,705 Marylanders have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 91 in the past day.
The state has administered 2,125,504 boosters, 4,842 in the past 24 hours.
State officials continue to encourage Marylanders to get boosted, even rolling out a $2 million lottery as an incentive for people to get their boosters.