Key points for today
• The number of confirmed cases in Talbot County increased by one to 59.
• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is 31,534, an increase of 1,049 in the last 24 hours.
• Of the state’s 1,510 deaths, 57 were in the last 24 hours; another 104 deaths in Maryland are likely due to the novel coronavirus.
The chart below is scrollable and sortable. Due to discrepancies in the numbers of deaths reported in Kent County, the per capita death rate for Kent County is based on the total deaths in facilities.
Sources: State and local health departments, Johns Hopkins University.
The Spy updates this chart between 2 and 3 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m. Hopkins updates its map data throughout the day. Nursing home data is updated weekly on Wednesdays.
If county and state data conflict, county data is reported.
* Maryland lists the total released from isolation, not the total recovered. See note below about total deaths.
About the numbers
The websites for the state of Maryland and for Kent and Queen Anne’s counties show discrepancies in the number of deaths in those counties.
The state and the Kent County Health Department report 10 deaths in the county; yet the state also reports that 15 residents of a Chestertown nursing home have died as a result of COVID-19.
In neighboring Queen Anne’s, the county reports zero COVID-19 deaths, but the state reports 8.
Health officials in both counties have said the discrepancy is based on the address listed on the death certificates for those patients.
“The dilemma that we have is the state webpage uses the information that is listed on the death certificate,” William Webb, the Kent County health officer, said. “The county of residence for the death certificate is determined between the funeral director and the next of kin. Typically, the Bureau of Vital Statistics does not get involved.”
“What happens is, for the sake of expedience and also for estate processing purposes, they will decide to put the residence for any number of reasons on the death certificate,” Webb said.
Queen Anne’s County officials have said the eight deaths listed for that county were Queen Anne’s County residents living in facilities elsewhere when they were infected and later died. Of those eight cases, five were living in Kent County at the time of diagnosis.
Additional information
• There currently are 1,665 people hospitalized — 1,090 in acute care and 575 in intensive care. The number of patients currently hospitalized dropped by 9 in the last 24 hours.
• Of the state’s 31,534 cases, 5,932 patients have ever been hospitalized for treatment.
• Maryland says 2,159 patients have been released from isolation, including 118 in the last 24 hours.
• The state reports 124,494 negative test results, including 2,792 in the last 24 hours.
• Benchmarks for the Maryland Roadmap to Recovery include a 14-day downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalization rates (including ICU bed usage), and number of deaths.
The graphs below are from coronavirus.maryland.gov and show the trends for cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
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