COVID-19 In Maryland: Hospitalizations Reach 1,200, Triggering Emergency Actions
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Maryland reported 1,204 residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, according to data released Friday by the state health department.
As a result, Gov. Larry Hogan and state health officials have directed hospitals throughout the state to free up bed capacity and delay non-emergency procedures, part of a series of emergency actions the state rolled out earlier this week due to an elevated number of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
This marks the eighth consecutive day that COVID-related hospitalizations have remained above the 1,000-mark in Maryland, which up until recently hadn't surpassed that total since late April.
Hogan and the Maryland Department of Health rolled several measures Wednesday intended to help hospitals manage bed capacity as they treat a growing number of patients. Among other things, the state established a surge operations center, secured key support for a plan to shore up Maryland's nursing workforce and directed hospitals to submit pandemic plans.
Up-to-date data for several metrics have been unavailable since the Department of Health was hit by a cyber attack earlier this month. Only vaccination and hospitalization data are current.
Hospitalizations increased by 37 to 1,204. Of those hospitalized, 921 adults are in acute care and 271 adults are in intensive care. Nine children in acute care and three are in intensive care.
A total of 4,214,762 Marylanders are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the most recent data. The state has administered 9,957,407 doses of the vaccine. Of those, 4,390,791 are first doses and 3,889,730 are second doses.
The state reports that 325,032 Marylanders have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows at least 90% of all Marylanders age 18 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Even as officials monitor cases of the new Omicron variant, which is believed to be more transmissible than other strains, Hogan said he does not anticipate imposing any lockdowns in Maryland. He's asking residents to socially distance, wear masks in public and get vaccinated.
"The bottom line: if you are unvaccinated, get vaccinated. If you are vaccinated, get your booster shot," the governor said Friday.
In Maryland, everyone age 16 and up is eligible to get the booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
To date, the state has administered 1,352,118 additional or booster vaccine doses, according to the most recent data.
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