Harford County Marks 100 Deaths From Coronavirus

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — With the addition of one death attributed to coronavirus in the past day, state health officials reported Wednesday that 100 people in Harford County have died from the virus since the pandemic began. The milestone comes as deaths have sharply increased from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, statewide and in Harford County.

Acting Harford County Health Officer Marcy Austin said the county saw 16 deaths in the past two weeks from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Compared with five deaths reported during the period two weeks before, that marked an increase of 220 percent, Austin said, in a briefing before the Harford County Council Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, the Maryland Department of Health reported Harford County had 99 coronavirus deaths, a number that rose to 100 Wednesday.

More than 500 Marylanders have died of the coronavirus in the past month, according to state health officials. Officials said 4,004 Marylanders had died of the virus since the pandemic began as of Nov. 1. In the past day, the state's death toll rose to 4,558, after 42 deaths were attributed to COVID-19, including the one in Harford County.

The first death from COVID-19 in Harford County was reported April 17, identified by county officials as a 27-year-old man with underlying health conditions who had traveled to New York.

State health data shows 34 of those who have died from coronavirus in Harford County since the pandemic began were residents from three nursing homes — 16 at Bel Air Health and Rehabilitation Center, 12 at Forest Hill Health and Rehab and six from Sterling Care at Riverside.

The potential for COVID-19 to cause severe illness increases with age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which says older adults and those with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk.

To help reduce the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, the CDC advises people to wash their hands often with soap and water or hand sanitizer that is at least 60 percent alcohol; keep 6 feet away from others; limit in-person interactions as much as possible, particularly indoors; wear a mask when interacting with others; and cover coughs and sneezes, since the virus is transmitted primarily through person-to-person contact by respiratory droplets.

Harford County has 6,234 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Wednesday, an increase of 74 cases in the past day, based on data from the Maryland Department of Health.

County health data shows 21 percent of those who have tested positive in Harford County as of Wednesday are 21 to 29 years old. This is consistent with the data for the state as well, as this age group leads the state in the number of cases, accounting for 19 percent overall.

Maryland had 203,355 confirmed cases of the virus, an increase of 2,220 in the past day, and the state has seen at least 1,000 cases a day since Nov. 4.

Here is a look at the Harford County coronavirus cases by ZIP code as of Wednesday, Dec. 2:

Here is a look at the data on coronavirus in Maryland for Wednesday, Dec. 2:

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