Maryland Coronavirus Cases Swell To 5,529; Officials Say 124 Dead

MARYLAND — More than 1,100 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Maryland in the past day, according to data released Wednesday morning. There are 5,529 confirmed cases of the virus statewide, the Maryland Department of Health reported, versus 4,371 cases Tuesday.

Authorities said 124 Marylanders have died from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, as of Wednesday — an increase of 21 deaths since Tuesday.

So far 32,933 negative tests results have been reported; 1,210 people have ever been hospitalized from COVID-19 in Maryland; and 365 people have been released from isolation after contracting the illness, according to state health officials.

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Gov. Larry Hogan said the data released Wednesday contained the results of tests from March that had been backlogged in commercial laboratories.

"Today’s numbers reflect a tripling of the tests reported since yesterday," Hogan said April 8. "We are seeing commercial labs begin to clear their backlog of tests. More than 30 percent of the new cases reported today are for testing that was completed in March."

Hogan has been working to get more demographic data about those who have tested positive for the disease but said he anticipates "significant gaps" initially since laboratories out of state have not tracked some information.

"I have directed the Maryland Department of Health through its office of minority health and health disparities to immediately take all actions necessary in order to provide further demographic breakdowns on race of all Maryland case data, including testing, hospitalizations, and mortality rates," Hogan said at a news conference Tuesday.

"However, I want to caution that 90 percent of the testing is being done by doctors and hospitals who are sending tests to private labs outside of the state which have not been keeping such data," Hogan said, "so we do anticipate having significant gaps in the initial data that will be available to us."

The governor said he directed health officials to publish racial and ethnic data about coronavirus patients as soon as it was available on the Maryland Department of Health website.

As of Wednesday, that data has not been released.

Here are the cases by jurisdiction as of Wednesday, April 8:

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