COVID-19 Cases Remain Low As County Prepares To Lift Restrictions

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County on Wednesday saw one of its smallest daily increases in coronavirus cases since March 2020.

Fifteen new infections were reported overnight, pushing the county's pandemic total to 70,743.

Since reaching its peak of 639 on Jan. 10, the number of daily cases in the county has been trending downward, official data shows. Some of the smallest increases were recorded this month — including on May 6 (with 14 cases), May 24 (with 14 cases), and May 25 (with 16 cases).

Cases haven't been that low since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

In the last 24 hours, the county hasn't reported any new coronavirus-related deaths. The local death toll remains at 1,497.

Another 46 residents are believed to have died from the virus without ever getting tested. For now, they are considered "probable deaths."

"You ARE making a difference," County Executive Marc Elrich tweeted Wednesday. "Please get vaccinated and continue to do what you can to drive numbers down and save lives."

Across Maryland, there have been 458,878 cases, 8,846 confirmed deaths, and 191 "probable deaths." Of the 432 people currently being hospitalized statewide, 120 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The positivity rate measures the percentage of COVID-19 tests that come back positive in a one-week span. According to data released Wednesday, Maryland's test positivity rate is 1.87 percent. In Montgomery County, it's 0.86 percent — down from 0.92 percent the day before.

To date, Maryland has administered 5,972,544 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among those, 3,162,034 were first doses and 2,580,815 were second doses.

In Montgomery County, 647,713 residents (61.6 percent) have received their first dose. A total of 535,655 residents (51 percent) have already gotten their second and final shot.

The recently county decided to relax coronavirus restrictions under a three-phase reopening plan that's based on the percentage of inoculated residents.

Phase three — which kicks in once 50 percent of residents are fully vaccinated — officially goes into effect at 6 a.m. on May 28. At that time, the county will get rid of any local restrictions and will instead adhere to current state guidelines.

As of now, all state-imposed restrictions on restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues have been lifted.