County Records 23 New COVID-19 Cases, Fewest Since March 2020

BETHESDA, MD — The number of new COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County fell to 23 on Monday — its lowest level since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The latest addition pushes the countywide total to 68,865 cases.

In the last four weeks, local COVID-19 infections have been hovering between 72 and 161. While the number of daily cases has dropped substantially from its peak in January (639 cases), County Executive Marc Elrich is reminding residents that the pandemic is not yet over.

"We must not interpret this as the pandemic is over," the Democrat tweeted Monday. "We have seen many ebbs and surges since last March. We must remain vigilant."

Since its outbreak emerged in March 2020, the county has reported 1,454 coronavirus-related deaths. Health officials believe that another 46 people had the virus, but died before ever getting tested. For now, they are considered "probable deaths." They won't be added to the official fatality count until confirmatory lab tests are performed.

Montgomery County — which is home to roughly 1 million people — continues to have the highest number of deaths in the state. It also has the second-highest number of confirmed cases, after Prince George's County, which has 81,382, according to the latest figures.

Across Maryland, there have been 436,659 cases, 8,387 confirmed deaths, and 187 "probable deaths." Of the 1,259 people currently being hospitalized statewide, 294 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

As of Monday, Maryland has administered 3,936,092 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among those, 2,315,056 were first doses and 1,441,303 were second doses.

In Montgomery County, 485,550 residents (46.2 percent) have received their first dose. A total of 300,314 residents (28.6 percent) have already gotten their second and final shot.