COVID In Maryland: State Positivity Rate Continues To Climb Above 9%, Hospitalizations Rising; Vaccination Rate Just Over 1% Of Population

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) — Maryland's positivity rate continues to climb as over 2,400 new cases and 33 new COVID-19 related deaths are reported Monday morning, state health officials say.

LATEST: Over 1,900 New Cases, 54 More Deaths Reported

A total of 2,483 new cases were added to the state, bringing the total number to 287,802 since the pandemic began. There have now been 5,859 Marylanders who have died from the virus.

Hospitalizations went up by 42, now at 1,751. Of those, 418 are in ICU beds and 1,333 are in acute care. The statewide positivity rate went up 0.32%, now at 9.47%.

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Since the pandemic began, 5,869,617 coronavirus tests have been administered in the state. A total of 65,692 vaccinations have been administered as of Monday morning, up 2,112 in the last 24 hours. The Baltimore Metropolitan area has the highest amount of vaccinations so far, with 35,318 vaccinated in the area.

More public schools are online only for now because of climbing positivity rates.

In Worcester County, which includes Ocean City, the positivity rate is above 16%. Schools canceled the planned start of small group in-person classes. Frederick County, meanwhile, has now moved all learning online.

"The metrics are devastating at this point," Daryl Boffman of Frederick County's school system told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "Out of concern for the safety of our faculty and staff, we're saying, 'Let's back off a little bit.'"

While cases rise, vaccine rollout is slow. Only 1.28% of people in the Baltimore region have been vaccinated.

Just under one percent of the population in western Maryland has been inoculated. That figure is 1.5% on the Eastern Shore and .58% in Maryland's D.C. suburbs.

Statewide, 65,692 people had been vaccinated as of Monday, 1.09% of the state's population. Both the governor and Baltimore's mayor will address vaccine distribution at press conferences scheduled for Tuesday.

Last week, research from Bloomberg showed Maryland used the smallest percentage of allotted vaccines of any state in the country.

Also Monday, Howard County began vaccinating first responders.

In Montgomery County, Holy Cross Health said employees shared a link meant only for them, leading family, friends and others to register for vaccination appointments when they were not eligible. Those appointments have now been canceled.

There is still uncertainty for many businesses.

Baltimore's Mount Washington Tavern closed Monday and won't reopen until the city's indoor dining ban is lifted. The owners said they cannot sustain their business on carryout alone.

Here's a breakdown of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Maryland (probable deaths are listed with an asterisk):

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.

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