Coronavirus In Montgomery Co: Cases Up Nearly 51% Since Last Week

GAITHERSBURG, MD — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Montgomery County increased by nearly 51 percent, or by 891 cases, since April 13, bringing its total to 2,647.

As of Monday morning, Montgomery County has 89 fatalities, according to the Maryland Health Department. Seventeen other people have COVID-19 listed on their death certificate, but the state will not add those deaths to the official tally until a laboratory can confirm them.

As the state's most populous jurisdiction, Montgomery County has the second highest number of known coronavirus cases in Maryland. Prince George's County is first with a total of 3,583.

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Statewide, 13,684 people have tested positive for the new coronavirus. That's an increase of 4,748 cases since April 13, when there were 8,936. The state's death toll now stands at 516.

An additional 66 Marylanders are categorized as "probable deaths," since lab tests are required to verify they had the virus but their death certificates list COVID-19 as a cause of death.

No one under the age of 20 has died from the disease.

Here's a more detailed breakdown by age and gender:

Maryland reported its first three cases of coronavirus on March 5. Since then, 57,713 people have tested negative for the disease, 3,014 have been hospitalized, and 917 have been released from hospitalization.

The numbers are expected to grow as more people get tested, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

On Monday, Gov. Larry Hogan announced that the state has procured 500,000 testing kits from a South Korean company called LabGenomics.

"The 500,000 test capacity which we have just acquired is equal to the total amount of testing which has been completed by four of the top five states in America combined," Hogan said, noting that it represents an "exponential, game-changing step forward" for the state's testing initiative.

The test kits will cost about $9 million — which the governor says "seems like a pretty worthwhile investment" considering it will protect thousands of lives and get the state's economy back on track.

Hogan's Korean-born wife, Yumi Hogan, helped secure the deal with her native country.

On March 28, Hogan said he asked his wife to join him on a call with Lee Soo Hyuck, the Korean ambassador to the United States.

"We made a personal plea in Korean asking for their assistance," he said, adding that the call "set in motion 22 straight days" of vetting, testing and negotiating among scientists, doctors and government agencies from both Maryland and South Korea.

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