Anne Arundel adds 256 virus cases, 6 deaths
Anne Arundel County confirmed 256 new coronavirus cases and six new deaths Wednesday, according to state health data, marking another deadly day in a month where deaths fromCOVID- 19 have reached a high unseen since May.
More than 60 people died from the illness in December, the highest death toll the county has recorded since 79 people died in April and 82 died in May.
County Executive Steuart Pittman, amid pressure from restaurants and hospitality groups suing his administration, announced Wednesday morning he would allow indoor dining as long as restaurants do not seat more than 25% of their capacity. Pittman said his administration had already been considering that action as they reviewed infection metrics.
He reported improved hospitalization projections, but deaths continued to rise, and cases are likely to continue spiking following Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Numbers released Wednesday morning show the county has recorded 24,045 confirmed cases and 349 deaths since the pandemic began. Another 13 people may have died fromthe disease, but a lab test was never performed. Maryland confirmed 2,628 new coronavirus cases and 45 new deaths on Wednesday.
Anne Arundel County’s seven- day average rate of positiveCOVID- 19 tests is 8.61%.
At least 5.7 million tests have been conducted across Maryland, increasing more than 40,000 in the last 24 hours, bringing the statewide seven- day average rate of positive cases to 8.22%.
Statewide, 1,756 are hospitalized, a slight decrease from Monday, with 410 patients in the ICU and 1,346 patients in acute care. Though the number of full ICU beds hasn’t hit the peak seen in May, statewide hospitalizations continue to climb.
In the county, 137 people are hospitalized with the virus as of Monday, a marked decrease from Sunday, with 36 needing more serious care. Data from the Anne Arundel County Department of Health shows the current seven- day average for ICU hospital beds in use is 81.5%. The seven- day average for Intensive Care Unit beds in use is about 79.9%.
The data reflects hospital capacity for Anne Arundel Medical Center and the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center.
Statewide, about 83% of inpatient beds are full, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Patients with COVID- 19 occupy about 21% of those beds.
Five Maryland hospitals reported critical staffing short ages Wednesday, according to federal data, and three expected to have shortages in the next week. Forty- eight hospitals didn’t have critical shortages, nor did they expect to. Of the inpatient beds occupied in Maryland hospitals reporting to HHS, 30% supportedCOVID- 19 patients.
Anne Arundel County has reached a seven- day average case rate of about 41.1, meaning out of every 100,000 residents, roughly 41 residents would have the virus on a given day. The case rate uses the average number of new cases over seven days to measure the spread of COVID- 19 in the community. As of Wednesday, Anne Arundel County’s case rate is higher than the state average. Of the eight largest jurisdictions in the state, the county had the third- worst case rate behind Frederick and Prince George’s Counties.
ZIP codes
Here is an alphabetical breakdown of the number of cases in each ZIP code in Anne Arundel County as of Wednesday. State numbers are in parentheses. ZIP codes that overlap more than one county are in italics.
The state numbers also account for cases at congregate living facilities in those ZIP codes, which the county numbers do not include.
■ Annapolis ( 21401): 1,439 ( 1885)
■ Annapolis ( 21403): 1,369 ( 1712)
■ Annapolis ( 21405): 19 ( 29)
■ Annapolis ( 21409): 529 ( 643)
■ Annapolis Junction ( 20701): 1 ( 17)
■ Arnold ( 21012): 554 ( 755)
■ Brooklyn ( 21225): 488 ( 1617)
■ BWI Airport ( 21240): 0 ( N/ A)
■ Churchton ( 20733): 49 ( 57)
■ Crofton ( 21114): 675 ( 885)
■ Crownsville ( 21032): 225 ( 362)
■ Curtis Bay ( 21226): 116 ( 298)
■ Davidsonville ( 21035): 187 ( 252)
■ Deale ( 20751): 58 ( 64)
■ Dunkirk ( 20754): 13 ( 188)
■ Edgewater ( 21037): 573 ( 774)
■ FortMeade ( 20755): ( 178)
■ Friendship ( 20758): 20 ( 25)
■ Galesville ( 20765): 14 ( 18)
■ Gambrills ( 21054): 346 ( 509) ■ Gibson Island ( 21056): 6 ( N/ A) ■ Glen Burnie ( 21060): 1,454 ( 1806) ■ Glen Burnie ( 21061): 2,337 ( 2713)
■ Hanover ( 21076): 670 ( 957)
■ Harmans ( 21077): 13 ( 13) ■ Harwood ( 20776): 83( 94) ■ Jessup ( 20794): 125 ( 1284) ■ Laurel ( 20724): 941 ( 1080) ■ LinthicumHeights ( 21090): 349 ( 442) ■ Lothian ( 20711): 239 ( 268) ■ Millersville ( 21108): 575 ( 680) ■ Naval Academy ( 21402): ( 102)
■ North Beach ( 20714): 3 ( 105)
■ Odenton ( 21113): 1,003 ( 1219)
■ Owings ( 20736): 0 ( 218)
■ Pasadena ( 21122): 2,133 ( 2587) ■ Riva ( 21140): 66 ( 92)
■ Severn ( 21144): 1,289 ( 1496) ■ Severna Park ( 21146): 742 ( 995) ■ Shady Side ( 20764): 78 ( 110) ■ Tracys Landing ( 20779): 20 ( 24) ■ West River ( 20778): 44 ( 52)