MD Breaks Record For Coronavirus Case Single-Day Increase

MARYLAND — For the second time this week, Maryland has set a record for the most new coronavirus cases reported in a single day. The Maryland Department of Health reported Thursday that 2,910 cases of the virus were confirmed in the past 24 hours.

That breaks the record set Saturday, when 2,321 new infections were confirmed. Tuesday saw the second-highest increase in coronavirus cases, with 2,149 new cases reported.

There have been a total of 174,733 cases of the virus in Maryland, state health officials said Thursday.

Testing Volume Ramps Up

The increase in new cases comes as more tests are being conducted around the state.

In the past 24 hours, health officials reported the results from 43,963 coronavirus tests, the largest volume reported in a single day to date. In March when Maryland first faced the coronavirus, officials said only about 50 tests were conducted daily.

As more people are tested, however, an increasing number of positive results are reported. As of Thursday, the data shows Maryland's coronavirus positivity rate is 7.19 percent, an uptick of 0.37 percent in the past day.

The World Health Organization has recommended a positivity rate of 5 percent or less to ensure adequate testing to detect who has the virus in a community.

The case rate per 100,000 people in Maryland is 31.66 as of Thursday, health officials say.

When an area's case rate is greater than 25 per 100,000, community spread is out of control and may require measures to curb the infection, according to the Harvard Global Health Institute.

Effective Friday, bars and restaurants in Maryland must be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., except for carryout and delivery service. Gov. Larry Hogan said the restriction was being implemented because "compliance with public health protocols drops dramatically later in the evening."

Hospitalizations, Deaths See Uptick

After 48 people were hospitalized with the virus in the past day, there are now 1,192 coronavirus patients in Maryland hospitals, according to state health data released Thursday.

Earlier this week, Hogan announced the state's health department was issuing orders to manage hospital surge, such as restricting visitation and enabling overcrowded hospitals to transfer patients to other facilities.

Hogan said Tuesday that hospitals in western Maryland were already at capacity.

Officials said 19 deaths in the past day were attributed to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, pushing the death toll in Maryland to 4,220 as of Thursday.

Montgomery and Prince George's counties lead the state in fatalities from the virus, with 878 reported in each. They account for 41.6 percent of the deaths in Maryland from COVID-19.

See Also:

• New COVID Rules In MD Ahead Of Anticipated Hospital Surge
• Coronavirus Patients At MD Hospitals, ICUs Double Since Nov. 1
• Hogan Reduces Restaurant, Bar Capacity As Coronavirus Cases Spike

Here is a look at the data on coronavirus in Maryland for Thursday, Nov. 19: