COVID-19 In Maryland: More Than 1K New Cases Reported Saturday As Hospitalizations & Positivity Rate Increase

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Maryland reported 1,194 new COVID-19 cases and 10 new deaths, according to state health department data released Saturday morning.

The percentage of people testing positive remains below the benchmark of 5 percent.

New data from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows more than 20 percent of coronavirus cases reported last week were among children.

Cases in kids have exploded since July, from about 38,000 reported weekly to more than 200,000.

Almost 5 million children have tested positive for COVID-19.

Doctors say the new cases are fueled by dangerous strains targeting the unvaccinated. During an August press conference, Gov. Larry Hogan said the Delta variant, a strain that is reportedly two to four times more contagious than the original virus strain, accounts for nearly every new confirmed case in Maryland.

Hogan also said less than 0.01% of vaccinated Marylanders have been hospitalized with COVID-19, and less than 0.001% of vaccinated Marylanders have died from the virus.

"The vaccines are without a doubt our single most effective tool to mitigate the threat of COVID-19 and the surging Delta variant, and Maryland's vaccination rate continues to outpace the nation," Hogan said.

"Equally as important as getting a vaccine yourself is helping someone you know to get a vaccine. The vaccines are very safe, they are very effective, they are completely free, and they are widely available nearly everywhere."

More than 3.7 million Maryland adults are fully vaccinated.

Hospitalizations increased by 8 to 820. Of those hospitalized, 630 remain in acute care and 190 remain in the ICU.

Since the pandemic began, there were 502,229 total confirmed cases and 9,837 deaths.

There are 3,755,043 Marylanders fully vaccinated. The state has administered 7,593,424 doses. Of those, 3,838,381 are first doses with 5,824 administered in the past 24 hours. They have given out 3,466,246 second doses, 6,428 in the last day.

The state began to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine again in April after the CDC and FDA lifted their pause on the vaccine due to a rare blood clot found in some women.

A total of 288,797 Marylanders have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 993 in the last day.

The state reported 81.4% of all adults in Maryland have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

In August, the state launched a post-vaccination infections dashboard that is updated every Wednesday. There have been 11,454 total cases among fully vaccinated Marylanders as of last Wednesday, September 1.

Of those cases, 883 vaccinated Marylanders were hospitalized, representing 6.5% of all Covid cases hospitalized in the state. 82 fully vaccinated Marylanders have died, representing 5.3% of lab-confirmed Covid deaths in the state.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: 

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

Here's a breakdown of the numbers:

By County

By Age Range and Gender

By Race and Ethnicity

In:
• Maryland
• COVID-19