After Holidays In Anne Arundel, Cases Rise At Fastest Rate Ever

ANNE ARUNDEL, COUNTY, MD — Coronavirus infections are now rolling in faster than ever, as Anne Arundel County battles a post-holiday surge. Hospitalizations are also threatening their springtime high.

There is some good news, however. The first 6,666 Marylanders got the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine last week, and the positivity rate dipped slightly.

Still, Anne Arundel County tallied more than 1,000 coronavirus infections for the ninth straight week. The county is reporting about four times as many cases-per-day as its summertime high.

Last week's 2,573 infections are up 578 from the week prior. The virus also killed 31 county residents last week, which is 13 more than the week before, the Maryland Department of Health said.

Vaccine Update

• Currently: 2.58 percent
• Trend: Up by 1.3 percentage points

Vaccines are starting to trickle into Maryland. The state tallies the number of people who have gotten the immunization on this website.

The data are reported by region, not by county. Anne Arundel County is part of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, which also includes these places:

• Baltimore City
• Baltimore County
• Carroll County
• Harford County
• Howard County

So far, 71,178 people have gotten their first shot in this area. That's 1.28 percent of the population, and it's up by 35,860 from last week.

It's going to be a while before the vaccine has widespread circulation. The rollout will happen in five phases: 1A, 1B, 1C, 2 and 3. The state is still in phase 1A, which prioritizes health care workers, first responders and those working or living in long-term care facilities.

After these Marylanders take the shot, high-risk individuals and teachers are next in line in stage 1B. Employees in critical industries, like infrastructure, are eligible in phase 1C.

More industries join the list in stage 2. The general public is up in the third and final period of immunization. For more information on Maryland's plan, click here.

Coronavirus Case Rate:

• Currently: 59.31
• Trend: Up by 11.04

Health officials focus on several metrics to evaluate the coronavirus pandemic. The most frequently-used are the case rate, hospitalizations and percent positivity.

The case rate is a per-capita measure that makes it easy to compare places with different populations. A jurisdiction's case rate is the average number of new coronavirus infections-per-day that it registers over a rolling week per 100,000 people.

As a barometer, Maryland health officials say expanded in-person classes are probably safe when the local case rate dips below 5. Anne Arundel County's case rate has spiked to 59.31. That's up by 11.04 from this time last week, and it's the county's highest clip ever.

Anne Arundel's case rate hit previous highs of 13.4 on June 3 and 14.26 on Aug. 2. It reached a low of 3.53 on June 26, but it's been an upward climb since then.

Hospitalizations

• Currently: 162
• Trend: Up by 3

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are soaring. Hospitalizations are nearing their April 21 high of 172, and they are still above their summertime lows.

The disease left 162 Anne Arundel County residents hospitalized on Sunday. That's up three from the week prior. Friday's 168 hospitalizations were the second-most ever.

The county had fewer than 50 hospitalizations between June 14 and Oct. 18. They hit an overall low of 21 on Sept. 21.

ICU Hospitalizations

• Currently: 37
• Trend: Up by 3

Covid ActNow, a coronavirus statistics website, estimates that Anne Arundel County has 50 beds in the intensive care unit. Hospitals need to save some of these beds for emergencies that aren't related to coronavirus.

On Sunday, Anne Arundel had 37 patients in the ICU with the virus. That's up three from this time last week. The 39 ICU hospitalizations registered on Dec. 30 were the most since May 15.

ICU usage maxed out at 49 on May 13. It receded to 4 by Aug. 24. ICU beds then hit a recent high of 30 on Nov. 27.

Positivity Rate

• Currently: 10.01 percent
• Trend: Down by 0.39 percentage points

The county's positivity rate is back on the rise. This is the percentage of coronavirus tests that come back positive over a moving seven days. The statistic also measures whether an area has enough tests to identify most of its infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a positivity rate of less than 5 percent demonstrates that a region has enough testing to control its outbreak. The Maryland Department of Health says hybrid learning should be safe when jurisdictions fall beneath this benchmark.

Anne Arundel County's positivity rate reached 10.07 percent on Sunday, which is down by 0.39 percentage points from this time last week. The 10.4 percent positivity registered on Jan. 3 was the highest since May 30.

The positivity rate is down from its April 16 high of 28.16 percent, but it's up from its Aug. 16 low of 2.29 percent.

The county stayed beneath the 5 percent positivity threshold for 137 days. That streak, which started on June 22, came to an end on Nov. 7. The local positivity rate has since doubled.

Total Cases And Deaths

Anne Arundel County's 28,202 coronavirus infections are the fifth most in the state. The virus is blamed for the death of 388 county residents.

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RELATED:

• Anne Arundel Passes 25K Cases As Positivity Rate Continues Climb
• Hundreds Of Anne Arundel First Responders Get Coronavirus Vaccine
• Anne Arundel Restaurants Stay Open After County Settles Lawsuit
• Marylanders Try To Cut Line For Coronavirus Vaccine: Hogan
• Hogan Shifts Vaccine Plan, Hopes To Overcome Slow Distribution

Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.