Coronavirus Surging At Fastest Rate Since May In Prince George's

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — The coronavirus is spreading faster than ever in Maryland. Prince George's County tallied 1,383 infections in the last reported week. That was the county's highest clip since the week of May 24.

With cases surging, it's worth a look into the county's data trends. Follow along as Patch explains where Prince George's County started and where it is now.

Coronavirus Case Rate

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 spiked to 29.61. That's the county's highest mark since May 25.

Prince George's case rate hit previous highs of 38.85 on May 7 and 19.04 on Aug. 4. 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

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations have also pointed upward. They are down from their high of 244 in the week of May 3, but hospitalizations are starting to grow.

The disease left 92 people hospitalized in Prince George's County in the last reported week. That's the most since the week of June 14. Hospitalizations hit an overall low of 44 in the week of Sept. 20.

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 29 patients in the ICU with the virus. That is the most since the week of June 21. ICU hospitalizations maxed out at 69 in the week of May 3 and receded to 11 by the week of Aug. 2.

Positivity Rate

The county's positivity rate is also on the upswing. 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 has ascended to 7.97 percent. Saturday's 8.46 percent positivity was the highest since June 22.

That's 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 36,486 coronavirus infections are the most in the state. The virus is blamed for the death of 866 county residents.

RELATED:

• More Coronavirus Regulations Hit Prince George's As Cases Soar

Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.