Kristi King | kking@wtop.com
Climbing COVID-19 case numbers are pushing many D.C.-area jurisdictions from low into medium community spread.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines low community spread as a seven-day total of fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 residents.
A sample of localities’ numbers based on the most recent data available on new cases shows:
In all of those jurisdictions, seven-day averages for new hospitalizations, hospital bed use and deaths are still considered low.
Montgomery County, Maryland, announced it had moved into a medium level of COVID-19 transmission on Monday. The health department reported a sharper reduction in deaths in April — not surprising, because deaths and hospitalizations often lag.
“Sometimes, of course, death certificates can take several weeks before they’re finally confirmed because of additional testing and consultations by the providers,” said Sean O’Donnell, public health emergency manager for Montgomery County Health and Human Services. “But right now we did see a greater reduction of deaths in April. This is obviously not the first metric that changes when you see transmission go up. But this is one we want to keep as low as possible.”
The percentage of beds currently being used by COVID-19 patients in Montgomery County is 3.3%. In both Prince George’s County and D.C. it’s 2%, and it’s 1.9% of available hospital bed capacity in both Arlington and Fairfax counties.
Kristi King is a veteran reporter who has been working in the WTOP newsroom since 1990. She covers everything from breaking news to consumer concerns and the latest medical developments.
Like WTOP on Facebook and follow WTOP on Twitter and Instagram to engage in conversation about this article and others.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2022 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Need help accessing the FCC Public File due to a disability? Please contact Susan Rushkowski at publicfiledc@hubbardradio.com or (202) 895-5027.
Copyright © 2022 by WTOP. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.