COVID-19 In Maryland: 1,392 Hospitalized As Positivity Rate Rises To 11.64%
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Maryland reported 6,218 new COVID-19 cases and a double-digit positivity rate, according to health department data released Tuesday morning.
The percentage of people testing positive rose to 11.64%, an increase of 1.38% over the past 24 hours.
Hospitalizations increased by 47 to 1,392. Of those hospitalized, 1,088 adults are in acute care and 293 are in intensive care. Eight children are in acute care and three are in intensive care.
The latest round of data comes as officials ramp up efforts to get Marylanders vaccinated and to distribute at-home test kits ahead of the holidays.
On Tuesday, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski disclosed he has tested positive for COVID-19, a day after Gov. Larry Hogan said he tested positive.
Since the pandemic began, there have been a total of 627,438 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Maryland and 11,022 deaths.
There are 4,231,337 Marylanders fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The state has administered 10,077,153 doses. Of those, 4,418,054 are first doses, with 10,138 administered in the past 24 hours. Officials have given out 3,905,585 second doses, 7,461 of them in the last day.
A total of 325,752 Marylanders have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 148 over the last 24 hours.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows at least 90% of all Marylanders age 18 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Even as officials monitor cases of the new Omicron variant, which is believed to be more transmissible than other strains, Gov. Larry Hogan said he does not plan to impose any lockdowns. He's asking residents to socially distance, wear masks in public and get vaccinated.
"The bottom line: if you are unvaccinated, get vaccinated. If you are vaccinated, get your booster shot," the governor said last Friday.
In Maryland, everyone age 16 and up is eligible to get the booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
To date, the state has administered 1,427,762 additional or booster vaccine doses, according to the most recent data.
Last week, hospitals throughout the state were directed to free up beds and delay scheduling non-emergency procedures and submit their pandemic plans after the state reached 1,200 hospitalizations.
Should the number of hospitalizations reach 1,500, hospitals would be directed to roll out pandemic plans, which lay out a blueprint for how they'll maximize staffed surgical bed and ICU capacity.
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