Cases Rise At Fastest Rate Ever, But There's Good News

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Coronavirus infections are now rolling in faster than ever, as Prince George's County battles a post-holiday surge. With the first residents getting their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, the immunization rollout offers more hope.

In other bright news, Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations have dipped since they peaked two weeks ago. General hospitalizations also declined for the first time since the week of Oct. 18.

Last week's 3,632 cases are up 579 from the week prior, and it's the most ever. The virus also killed 42 county residents last week, which is 11 more than the week before, the Maryland Department of Health said.

Still, the incoming vaccines offer residents some hope as the state ramps up its immunization efforts. Here's a breakdown of the latest coronavirus metrics in Prince George's County.

Vaccine Update

• Currently: 6,835 first doses and 135 second doses
• Trend: Up by 3,262 first doses and 135 second doses

Vaccines are starting to trickle into Prince George's. The county tallies the number of people who have gotten the immunization on this website.

It's going to be a while before the two-dose vaccine has widespread circulation. The rollout will happen in five phases: 1A, 1B, 1C, 2 and 3. Prince George's County is still in stage 1A.

In general, frontline health care workers get the first shots. Essential workers and those at risk follow. The remaining residents can get the coronavirus inoculation in the third and final phase. For more information on the county's plan, click here.

Coronavirus Case Rate

• Currently: 55.17
• Trend: Up by 8.28

Health officials focus on several metrics to evaluate the coronavirus pandemic. The most frequently-used are the case rate, hospitalizations and percent positivity.

The case rate is a per-capita measure that makes it easy to compare places with different populations.

A jurisdiction's case rate is the average number of new coronavirus infections-per-day that it registers over a rolling week per 100,000 people.

As a barometer, Maryland health officials say expanded in-person classes are probably safe when the local case rate dips below 5. Prince George's County's case rate has jumped to 55.17 which is up 8.28 from this time last week. It's also the county's highest rate ever.

Prince George's had a previous case rate high of 38.85 on May 7. It reached lows of 7.57 on July 2 and 9.96 on Sept. 25, but it's been an upward climb since then.

Hospitalizations

• Currently: 216
• Trend: Down by 1

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are soaring. Hospitalizations are nearing their high of 244, set in the week of May 3, and they are still above their summertime lows.

The disease left 216 people hospitalized in Prince George's County in the last reported week. That's down from the week prior, and it's the second most since the county's peak. Hospitalizations hit an overall low of 44 in the week of Sept. 20.

ICU Hospitalizations

• Currently: 65
• Trend: Down by 10

Covid ActNow, a coronavirus statistics website, estimates that Prince George's County has 122 beds in the intensive care unit. Hospitals need to save some of these beds for emergencies that aren't related to coronavirus.

Last week, Prince George's had 65 patients in the ICU with the virus. That's down 10 from the week prior. ICU hospitalizations hit a previous high of 75 in the week of Dec. 27 after they bottomed out at 11 in the week of Aug. 2.

Positivity Rate

• Currently: 11.07 percent
• Trend: Down by 0.85 percentage points

The county's positivity rate fell slightly this week. This is the percentage of coronavirus tests that come back positive over a moving seven days. The statistic also measures whether an area has enough tests to identify most of its infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a positivity rate of less than 5 percent demonstrates that a region has enough testing to control its outbreak. The Maryland Department of Health says hybrid learning should be safe when jurisdictions fall beneath this benchmark.

Prince George's County's positivity rate sits at 11.07 percent, which is 0.85 percentage points lower than last week. The 11.92 percent positivity clocked on Jan. 3 was the highest clip since June 5.

The positivity rate is down from its May 2 high of 41.95 percent, but it's up from its Sept. 24 low of 3.46 percent.

Total Cases And Deaths

Prince George's County's 60,023 coronavirus infections are the most in the state. The virus is blamed for the death of 1,115 county residents.

RELATED:

• Coronavirus Vaccine: Prince George's County Lays Out Timeline
• ICU Hospitalizations Reach Record High In Prince George's County
• Marylanders Try To Cut Line For Coronavirus Vaccine: Hogan
• Hogan Shifts Vaccine Plan, Hopes To Overcome Slow Distribution
• Indoor Dining Shut Down, Capacities Trimmed In Prince George's

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