Nearly 52,800 Marylanders have been diagnosed with coronavirus, with 13,016 cases diagnosed in the two weeks before May 31, 2020, according to the latest data from the Maryland Department of Health. The two-week population of cases continues to plateau, not moving much even after testing was expanded to individuals without symptoms.
Statewide, the positivity rate for coronavirus testing is dropping persistently. As of May 31, 2020, the statewide positive test rate is 10.9 percent, the lowest level seen since April 15, 2020. Maryland has now conducted 348,773 COVID-19 tests, including 9,412 tests over the 24 hours before May 31, 2020.
Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, with positivity rates still above the rest of the state, continue to see steady decreases. The positivity rate in Prince George’s County has dropped by more than from a high of 41.96% percent to a current rate of 16.9 percent. Montgomery County has dropped by more than 60 percent, from a high of 32.64 percent to a current rate of 12.9 percent.
Likewise, the number of coronavirus deaths in Maryland has been persistently trending downward. According to state data charted below, the two-week rolling average of daily coronavirus deaths dropped to 39 deaths per day statewide, down from a two-week rolling average peak of 54 deaths per day last seen May 19, 2020.
In Prince George’s County, the two-week population of confirmed cases has also been declining slightly, dropping from 4,105 cases in the two weeks before May 19, 2020, to 3,612 cases in the two weeks before May 31, 2020. In all, 15,520 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed in Prince George’s County.
The number of deaths from coronavirus in Prince George’s County is also trending down. As of May 31, 2020, the two-week rolling average of deaths per day in Prince George’s had declined to about 8 from a peak of 13 deaths per day last seen May 10, 2020. Also of note: Prince George’s County went a day without any reported coronavirus deaths, according to the data for May 29, 2020. It’s the first time since at least April 4, 2020, that Prince George’s County went a day without a coronavirus death.
Lastly, coronavirus hotspots continue to persist in parts of rural Maryland, while early hotspots inside the D.C. Beltway seem to melt away when you measure the number of cases confirmed in the past two weeks.
Maryland’s current total COVID-19 hospitalizations — a key recovery metric — have dropped to 1,183, the lowest level since April 15. There are 479 ICU beds in use for COVID-19 patients as of may 31, 2020, the lowest number since April 17. The number of patients in acute care, 704, is at its lowest since April 14.
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