Maryland reports 925 new coronavirus cases Sunday, its highest total since late May
Maryland reported 925 new cases of the novel coronavirus Sunday — the most since May 30, when there were 1,027 cases — and nine new deaths resulting from the virus.
The state’s caseload has increased over the past few days, surging over 900 for the first time in a month and a half, while other key metrics, such as deaths, hospitalizations and the rate of people testing positive have remained relatively low.
For example, the state has reported fewer than 20 coronavirus deaths for 24 straight days.
But the number of cases is trending up after a period when case numbers lingered around 300 to 400. The state’s peak was 1,784 on May 19.
In total, the state has reported 78,131 cases and 3,247 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
As of Sunday, 449 people are hospitalized in Maryland, one more than on Saturday. About 29% of those hospitalized are in intensive care units.
Maryland reported that a record 28.899 new coronavirus tests were administered, compared with Friday’s record high of 24,171. The state figures released Sunday say the positivity rate remained below 5% for the 25th consecutive day, at 4.46% This benchmark is notable, since the World Health Organization recommends that governments remain below it for two weeks before reopening.
But Johns Hopkins University, which calculates the rate differently, placed Maryland slightly above 5% as of early Sunday morning, at 5.17%. Maryland is among 34 states with a positivity rate above 5, according to Hopkins’ data.
State officials calculate the positivity rate by dividing the number of positive tests by the total testing volume over a seven-day period. Instead, Hopkins uses the number of people tested, the combination of new cases and the number of people who tested negative.
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