Maryland's COVID-19 Hospitalizations Top 2,500; Positivity Rate Surpasses 26%
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maryland topped 2,500 on Sunday, setting a new record, while the statewide positivity rate surpassed 26%, according to Department of Health data.
Updates to Maryland's COVID-19 dashboard were paused for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. When reporting resumed Sunday, hospitalizations had risen by 146 on Dec. 31 and 96 on Jan. 1, bringing the total to 2,550.
The positivity rate rose to 26.09%, a 1.39% increase over the past 24 hours.
Deaths rose by 43 over the past two days, bringing the total to 11,632 people in Maryland who have died as a result of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 stand at 737,199 after daily increases of 10,811 Sunday, 13,945 Saturday and 11,890 Friday.
Of those hospitalized, 2,082 are adults in adult care and 430 are adults in intensive care. There are 29 children in acute care and another nine are in the ICU.
Hospitals throughout the region have declared disasters and shifted to crisis standards of care, citing a surge in the number of COVID-19 patients they're treating.
To help hospitals deal with the recent surge, the Maryland Hospital Association is calling on Gov. Larry Hogan to declare a limited public health emergency.
Local jurisdictions including Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, and Howard counties, along with Baltimore City, have issued indoor mask mandates to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The increase in positive tests comes as Maryland has ramped up its testing efforts.
Last week, Maryland opened two more state-run testing clinics in Anne Arundel and Harford counties, which are open seven days a week. The state has expanded operations at existing testing sites in Annapolis and Prince George's County.
There are 4,267,426 Marylanders fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 91.0% of adults have gotten at least one dose.
The state has administered 10,378,480 vaccine doses. Of those, 4,484,518 are first doses, 1,597 in the past 24 hours. Another 3,939,741 are second doses, 1,115 in the last day. The state has given out 1,626,536 booster doses, 4,843 in the past day.
A total of 327,685 Marylanders have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 48 over the last 24 hours.
