COVID-19 In Maryland: Hospitalizations Dip To 715, Positivity Rate Stands At 3.78%
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Just over 700 Marylanders are hospitalized with COVID-19 as the positivity rate remains below 4%, according to data released Tuesday by the Maryland Department of Health.
With hospitalizations falling by 36 over the past 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 patients in Maryland hospitals stands at 715. That's down more than 79% from last month's peak of 3,462 hospitalizations.
The positivity rate rose slightly to 3.78%, a 0.01% increase since Monday and an 87% decrease compared to last month's high when the rate flirted with 30%.
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. Baltimore County plans to drop a similar mask requirement later this month.
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.
Maryland added 443 more COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases statewide to 971,175 since the pandemic began.
The statewide death toll now stands at 13,679 after increasing by 13 overnight.
Earlier this month, Maryland emerged from a 30-day state of emergency issued by Hogan in response to elevated hospitalizations and infections that pushed many hospitals to capacity levels.
Yet healthcare leaders say hospitals still face nursing shortages.
Over the past several weeks, Hogan also issued executive orders aimed at shoring up workforces in nursing homes, hospitals and emergency medical services.
Of those currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maryland,560 are adults in acute care and 145 are adults in intensive care. Nine children are in acute care and one is in the ICU.
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, and 89.7% of Marylanders ages 5 and up have gotten a shot.
There are 4,440,532 Marylanders fully vaccinated. The state has administered 11,226,132 doses of the vaccine.
Of those, 4,669,765 are first doses, 1,983 in the last 24 hours. Another 4,106,975 are second doses, 2,949 in the past day. A total of 333,557 Marylanders have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 68 in the past day.
The state has administered 2,115,835 boosters, 4,644 in the past 24 hours.