COVID In Maryland: 900 New Cases, Hospitalizations Up

ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) — Maryland added 900 new coronavirus cases and 14 deaths Wednesday morning as hospitalizations surpassed 800, according to the State Department of Health.

There have now been 389,566 confirmed cases of the virus and 7,820 deaths since the pandemic began in the state.

Nine more Marylanders are hospitalized, bringing the total to 801. Of those, 216 are in intensive care and 585 are in acute care.

The state's seven-day average positivity rate is up 0.21% to 3.61%.

The state conducted 23,412 coronavirus tests in the last 24 hours, with over eight million tests conducted since the pandemic began.

Over 1.6 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered so far in Maryland as the state continues to move through Phase 1C.

Of those, 1,069,281 first doses and 584,389-second doses have been received. In the last day, 25,331 first doses and 11,772-second doses have been administered.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: 

• Coronavirus Resources: How To Get Help In Maryland
• TIMELINE: Coronavirus In Maryland, Tracking The Spread
• Latest coronavirus stories from WJZ
• Latest CDC Guidelines

In 48 hours, the state will eliminate capacity restrictions in places like restaurants and retail stores. This was welcomed news to businesses.

The moment the governor made that announcement, some facilities started getting calls about special events, like weddings.

"Right afterwards, I started receiving calls and emails from many of the couples that had to reschedule from last year," Argelis Harris, of Admiral Fell Inn, said.

"It has been very confusing," Harris said. "They have been very frustrated trying to plan, trying to get things. How many people can I invite, I don't want to invite that many and then I have to uninvite them."

At 5 p.m. on Friday, March 12, Gov. Hogan will lift capacity limits in stores, places of worship, gyms, casinos and recreational facilities. But each jurisdiction may choose to keep stricter guidelines in place.

You'll still need to follow social distancing rules and wear a mask.

"We do need to continue to be vigilant, businesses or individuals who don't follow the public health guidance could be endangering their employees, their customers, as well as the public," Gov. Hogan said.

Vaccine supply is still low, however.

"We are already ready to go. We are doing the work, the issue is we are running on fumes in terms of the gas which is the vaccines," Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski said.

Here's a breakdown of COVID-19 cases and deaths by county (probable deaths are listed with an asterisk):

In:
• Maryland
• COVID-19