Health department: Allegany COVID-19 case rate highest in Maryland

Teresa McMinn, Cumberland Times-News, Md.
·3 min read

Feb. 8—CUMBERLAND, Md. — Although Allegany County's COVID-19 case rate improved in the past few days, prevalence of the disease is nearly three times higher locally than the rest of Maryland on average.

According to the Allegany County Health Department, cases of the virus per 100,000 residents dropped from 98.24 Friday to 70.08 Sunday.

"While this is encouraging improvement, Allegany's case rate is currently the highest of any jurisdiction in Maryland," ACHD said via press release Monday.

Testing and vaccinations

Free drive-thru COVID-19 testing will be held at the Allegany County Fairgrounds, 11400 Moss Ave., from 2 to 7 p.m. Mondays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.

A state drive-thru COVID-19 testing site, in conjunction with the Garrett County Health Department, is available at the Garrett County Fairgrounds, 270 Mosser Road in McHenry, 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

Free COVID-19 vaccinations are available at the Allegany County Fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays.

No appointment is needed for first and second doses of the Moderna vaccine for ages 18 and older; and for first, second, and booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12 and older.

Appointments are required for the Moderna booster vaccine and can be scheduled via the following links:

Feb. 9, https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/1012896169

Feb. 16, https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/6969120821

Feb. 23, https://www.marylandvax.org/appointment/en/reg/6969150521

For help to register, county residents can call 240-650-3999.

COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are also widely available at local pharmacies, urgent care clinics and some primary care providers.

Free masks available

A limited supply of free KN95 masks are available to the public at the Willowbrook Office Complex, 12501 Willowbrook Road, or any branch of the Allegany County Library System during regular business hours.

"Studies have shown that consistently wearing a face mask in indoor public settings is associated with lower risk of COVID-19," ACHD said. "N95 masks and KN95 masks provided the most protection, reducing the change of infection by 83% as compared to 56% for cloth masks and 66% for surgical masks."

State, local cases

ACHD reported that as of Sunday there were 112 new local COVID-19 cases since Friday, which brought the county's cumulative total to 15,954.

Another local resident died because of the disease, which raised Allegany County's COVID-19 death toll to 333.

Roughly half of Allegany County residents were fully vaccinated, compared to 73% of Marylanders.

The Maryland Department of Health on Monday reported 772 new COVID-19 cases, 21 additional deaths and 10 more hospitalizations due to the virus across the state.

The daily COVID-19 rate was 6.12% statewide, 14.66% in Allegany County, 11.52% in Garrett County and 13.96% in Washington County.

The seven-day moving average COVID-19 rate per 100,000 people was 23.71 statewide, 70.08 in Allegany County, 43.28 in Garrett County and 44.35 in Washington County.

Teresa McMinn is the Digital Editor for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@times-news.com.