319 new cases as state embraces reopening
Maryland officials Friday reported 319 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours — a slight increase from Thursday when the state confirmed the fewest new cases of the coronavirus since the end of March.
The state’s 14-day rolling average of new confirmed cases in the state has declined for two straight weeks.
The state has confirmed 63,548 total cases of COVID-19 since it started collecting data in March.
Fifteen more people were reported to have died due to complications from the illness since Thursday, bringing the state total up to 2,901 fatalities. In addition, 129 people have probably died due to the disease or complications of it, but laboratory results to confirm their diagnosis are pending.
Hospitalizations have continued to trend downward since the end of May. State officials say 648 people are currently hospitalized for the virus, with 261 Marylanders in intensive care.
The statewide testing positivity rate is 5.41%, with a total of 390,121 people having tested negative for the virus, state officials said. The state has conducted 544,072 tests for COVID-19.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has said he is following guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that recommend reopenings after two weeks of a positivity rate below 15%.
The CDC’s official recommendation is that states don’t enter the second phase of their reopening process until they have 14 days of positivity rates under 15% with a median time of test order-to-result of three days or less. To enter a third phase, the recommendation is under 10% for two weeks with a test result return time of two days or less.
Friday’s single-day positivity rate of 5.41% marked Maryland’s highest in six days. However, that figure and the state’s seven-day average rate have both been under 10% each day since June 2, according to the state data. Maryland officials have not provided information on test return times.