Maryland confirmed 1,373 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, the highest daily increase since April 17 when the state recorded 1,500 new cases.
Maryland went about three and a half months with fewer than 1,000 new daily cases until Aug. 12, when state officials recorded 1,047 newly confirmed cases.
Since Aug. 12, including that date, Maryland has confirmed more than 1,000 new cases per day for eight of those 15 days.
State health officials has confirmed a total of 492,547 positive cases to date, while 3,914,622 Marylanders have tested negative for COVID-19.
The state’s seven-day average COVID positivity rate remained above 5% from Aug. 18-21 before dipping to 4.9% on Wednesday. The average currently sits at 4.92%.
Only seven of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions are experiencing “substantial” coronavirus transmission levels. The remaining 17 jurisdictions have “high” levels of coronavirus transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC has recommended that all people, regardless of vaccination status, wear a face mask indoors in areas of the country with substantial or high levels of coronavirus transmission.
Some Maryland jurisdictions have implemented their own local mask orders, but Gov. Larry Hogan has not reinstated a statewide mask mandate.
A total of 9,748 Marylanders are confirmed to have died from coronavirus. There are also 223 deaths of Maryland residents that are suspected to be related to the virus.
As of Friday morning, 711 Marylanders are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 535 in acute care and 176 in intensive care.
A total of 3,699,456 Marylanders, or about 61.19% of the state’s vaccine-eligible population, are fully vaccinated after receiving either one dose of a single-dose vaccine or their second dose of a two-dose vaccine.
