Maryland added more than 2,300 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The state has had more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases daily for 34 straight days, more than 1,500 cases for 25 days in a row, and more than 2,000 cases for seven days.
The state’s 7-day positivity rate dropped below 8%. The rate has been more than 5% for 29 consecutive days, more than 6% for 24 straight days, and more than 7% for the past seven days.
The number of patients currently hospitalized topped 1,000 for the 21st straight day and has been more than 1,500 for eight consecutive days.
Key points for today
• Dorchester County COVID-19 cases remain at 1,090, according to the county health department.
• The county’s 7-day average positivity rate is 6.01%.
• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 217,329, an increase of 2,302 in the last 24 hours.
• In the last 24 hours, 20 people died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 4,705.
The Spy obtains information for this chart between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m. Johns Hopkins updates its data throughout the day.
* Maryland and Cecil County report the total released from isolation.
** For Kent County deaths, The Spy reports its own tally based on the number of state-reported deaths within Kent County facilities and the number of non-facility deaths. For Queen Anne’s County deaths, The Spy reports the total deaths listed on the county’s website. There are discrepancies among state and county statistics concerning total deaths and facility deaths.
Key metrics
• The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients decreased by 15 over the last 24 hours.
• There currently are 1,561 people hospitalized — 1,173 in acute care and 388 in intensive care.
• Of the 44,955 test results received Dec. 6, 6.89% were positive. The 7-day positivity rate was 7.89%.
For additional COVID-19 graphics and links to resources, click here.
Additional information
• A total of 4,730,432 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Maryland; this number does not represent the total number of patients tested as some patients have been tested multiple times. The state reports 2,240,700 people have tested negative.
• Of the state’s 217,329 cases, 22,259 patients have ever been hospitalized for treatment; 8,797 have been released from isolation.
The graph below shows the average positivity rate for the five Mid-Shore counties.