MD Coronavirus Totals: 12,830 Confirmed Cases, 486 Deaths

MARYLAND — The Maryland Health Department on Sunday reported 23 more coronavirus deaths and 522 new cases, bringing the state's death toll to 486 and the total number of cases to 12,830.

Last week, the state began counting probable coronavirus deaths — which are deaths of people who likely had the new coronavirus, but died without being tested. Previously, deaths were only counted if they tested positive for the disease. The probable death toll now stands at 62.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has infected more than 2,34,000 people and killed more than 161,000 around the world as of Sunday morning, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

President Donald Trump has stated that states have enough coronavirus tests to make it safe to begin reopening the nation in the coming weeks. Many governors recognize the Trump administration has made strides in increasing the amount of testing.

But the nation is still far from having the ability to conduct enough tests on people to determine whether they have the coronavirus, including tests on people who may be asymptomatic and are walking around with the coronavirus.

"The administration is trying to ramp up testing,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday morning in an interview on CNN. “But to try to push this off to say that the governors have plenty of testing and they should just to get to work on testing, somehow we aren't doing our job is just absolutely false."

"Every governor in America has been pushing and fighting and clawing to get more tests," Hogan said. "It’s not accurate to say there’s plenty of testing out there and the governors should just get it done. That’s just not being straightforward."

Maryland has increased its testing by 5,000 percent over the past month, Hogan said. "But it's nowhere where it needs to be," he said.

Maryland reported its first three coronavirus cases on March 5. As of Sunday morning, 55,061 people have tested negative for the disease, 2,886 have been hospitalized, and 914 have been released from isolation.

Prince George's County still has the highest number of confirmed cases in the state. The total: 3,345. Second on the list as of Sunday is Montgomery County, with a total of 2,507 positive infections.

Behind Montgomery County is Baltimore County and Baltimore City with 1,733 and 1,392 known cases, respectively.

The jurisdiction with the fewest number of confirmed cases is Garrett County. The county — which hasn't reported a single new case in more than a week — has four positive infections.

For the latest on the new coronavirus in Maryland, get Patch news alerts.

A majority of people with COVID-19 will exhibit mild to moderate symptoms — such as fever, fatigue, and dry cough — and can recover at home, according to state health officials. Despite that, Hogan is urging Marylanders to take the virus seriously.

To slow the transmission of the virus, face coverings are now required in retail establishments and on public transportation in Maryland. Those who are younger than 9 years old don't have to wear them in retail environments.

The order follows the CDC's advising that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings where social distancing is difficult.

Cloth face coverings are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators, the CDC says. Those critical supplies are reserved for first responders and other frontline health care workers.

Bandanas, t-shirts, and scarves are all viable substitutes for the public.

In Maryland, a doctor's order is currently required to get tested. The Maryland Department of Health has opened testing sites at these locations:

• Anne Arundel County — Glen Burnie
• Baltimore City — Pimlico
• Baltimore County — Timonium
• Charles County — Waldorf
• Harford County — Forest Hill
• Montgomery County — White Oak
• Prince George's County — Landover

Testing capacity has increased by 5,000 percent in the past month, Hogan said this week, adding Maryland plans to triple its current capacity so it can test up to 10,000 people a day.

More information about coronavirus testing and symptoms is available from the Maryland Department of Health.

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