County Records Smallest One-Day Rise In Cases This Year

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County has recorded its smallest one-day increase in COVID-19 cases this year, according to data released Monday by the Maryland Department of Health.

In the past 24 hours, the county reported 84 new coronavirus cases, pushing its total since March 2020 to 64,857. The caseload hasn't been that low since Oct. 19, when 71 infections were recorded.

Daily cases continue to trend downward since reaching their peak of 639 on Jan. 10. This month alone, cases have dipped into the double digits a total of six times.

According to the state's health department, one more Montgomery County resident has died from the virus overnight. The local death toll now sits at 1,397.

Health officials believe that another 45 people had the virus, but died before ever getting tested. For now, they are considered "probable deaths."

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 75,427, according to the latest figures.

Across Maryland, there have been 394,058 cases, 7,873 confirmed deaths, and 182 "probable deaths." Of the 777 people currently being hospitalized statewide, 201 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

As of Monday, Maryland has administered 1,903,878 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among those, 1,206,078 were first doses and 647,759 were second doses.

In Montgomery County, 228,266 residents (21.7 percent) have received their first dose. A total of 118,157 residents (11.2 percent) have already gotten their second and final shot.