COVID 'Surge Is Stretching Our Resources': Upper Chesapeake Exec

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Harford County hospitals have seen an uptick in coronavirus patients that officials say is straining the system.

University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health was caring for 71 people who tested positive for the coronavirus, Colin Ward, vice president of Upper Chesapeake, told the Harford County Council Tuesday.

The number is "approximately two times the amount we cared for just two weeks ago," Ward said.

In fact, he said, Upper Chesapeake Health was caring for a low of 27 coronavirus patients just 10 days earlier, on Saturday, Jan. 9.

"This surge is stretching our resources" and "may result in transfer to another facility," Ward said. "We’re strongly trying to avoid that where we can."

There are things people can do to help prevent a strain on the health care system, he said.

Ward urged the community to "continue the best practices of wearing masks, practicing social distancing and using good hand hygiene to help us flatten the curve of the second spike."

Here are the latest health metrics for Harford County as of Wednesday, Jan. 20, according to the Maryland Department of Health:

• Confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Harford County: 10,476
• Deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, in Harford County: 190
• Coronavirus positivity rate in Harford County: 8.19 percent

Here's a look at coronavirus data across Maryland as of Wednesday, Jan. 20: