Washington County's COVID cases fall 14.1%; Maryland cases plummet 12.9%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·4 min read
Brockton Board of Health Executive Director Eno Mondesir speaks at a news conference announcing a new COVID-19 PCR testing facility at the Shaw's Center in the Massachusetts city on Sept. 2. The city reported 125 COVID-19 cases in the last week of August, and 18 hospitalizations.
Brockton Board of Health Executive Director Eno Mondesir speaks at a news conference announcing a new COVID-19 PCR testing facility at the Shaw's Center in the Massachusetts city on Sept. 2. The city reported 125 COVID-19 cases in the last week of August, and 18 hospitalizations.

Maryland reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 6,287 new cases. That's down 12.9% from the previous week's tally of 7,221 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Maryland ranked 36th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 4.7% from the week before, with 507,209 cases reported. With 1.82% of the country's population, Maryland had 1.24% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, three states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

The Labor Day holiday may have altered how many people can get tested and when, and when governments report testing results and deaths. This will skew week-to-week comparisons.

What are the COVID-19 stats for the Tri-State area?

Washington County reported 158 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 184 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 38,649 cases and 600 deaths.

Franklin County reported 364 cases and two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 218 cases and four deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 45,852 cases and 731 deaths.

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Fulton County reported 31 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 35 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 4,606 cases and 66 deaths.

Berkeley County reported 344 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 418 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 41,386 cases and 320 deaths.

Jefferson County reported 116 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 158 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 16,716 cases and 137 deaths.

Morgan County reported 29 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 31 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 4,754 cases and 71 deaths.

Recently, the Washington County Health Department and Meritus Health announced plans to offer updated COVID-19 boosters, designed to give broad protection against the virus including better protection against the Omicron variant.

The boosters are for people age 12 and older (for the Pfizer-BioNTech booster) and for those 18 and older (for the Moderna booster), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While the number of new infections has varied during recent months, COVID cases continue to be less lethal than they were during the earlier stages of the pandemic, according to local reports.

Some health officials attribute this to immunizations, as well as natural immunity.

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What were the COVID stats for Maryland?

Across Maryland, cases fell in 22 counties, with the best declines in Prince George's County, with 1,060 cases from 1,217 a week earlier; in Montgomery County, with 1,269 cases from 1,423; and in Anne Arundel County, with 495 cases from 625.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Within Maryland, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Allegany County with 214 cases per 100,000 per week; Charles County with 138; and Dorchester County with 132. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Montgomery County, with 1,269 cases; Prince George's County, with 1,060 cases; and Baltimore County, with 743.

In Maryland, 48 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 48 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,231,823 people in Maryland have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 15,247 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 95,250,705 people have tested positive and 1,050,323 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Maryland's COVID-19 hospital admissions falling

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Sept. 11. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 1,448

  • The week before that: 1,544

  • Four weeks ago: 1,626

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 60,585

  • The week before that: 61,376

  • Four weeks ago: 69,436

Hospitals in 16 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 22 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 19 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County reported 158 additional COVID-19 cases this week