The Carroll County Health Department announced the COVID-19 death of another county resident and 20 new cases on Tuesday.
The person was identified as an over-65 member of the community who died last week. That brings the number of Carroll County deaths during the week of April 11 to five, equaling the deadliest week since Jan. 24.
The health department reported two deaths for the three-week period beginning Feb. 28, but there have been 13 deaths since March 21. Throughout the pandemic, 240 county residents have died from COVID-19 — 68 community members and 172 congregate living facility residents. Of those, 214 have been 65 and older, 24 were 45-64 and two were 18-44.
With one resident at Copper Ridge testing positive, according to the health department website, there are current outbreaks at the following congregate living facilities: Copper Ridge, Carroll Lutheran Village, Lorien Mt. Airy, Lorien Taneytown and Springfield Hospital as well at the Central Maryland Correctional Facility and the Carroll County Detention Center.
New cases
The 20 new cases reported Tuesday afternoon make 44 thus far this week. That’s down from 56 at the same point last week.
Last week, there were 186 new cases. The previous week’s total has been adjusted up to 228, one fewer than the 229 from the previous week. Before that, the last time the county saw a weekly drop was the week of Feb. 21, the final of seven consecutive weeks of declining numbers following the post-holiday peak.
Carroll’s case rate per 100,000 people per day, reported as an average over the past seven days, dropped to 15.1, the lowest it has been since March 24. The rate dipped as low as 7.46 in early March after peaking at 47.58 on Jan. 11.
Carroll’s testing positivity rate, which measures the percentage of tests that returned positive results over the past seven days, dropped by 4.75%, the lowest it has been since March 18.
Around the state
Maryland health officials reported 925 new cases of the coronavirus Tuesday, the second-straight day the state has reported fewer than 1,000 daily cases amid a decline in overall testing. State officials have now reported a total of 437,584 cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, since March 2020.
Nineteen more people have died due to the disease or complications from it, state health officials reported Tuesday, bringing that total up to 8,406 people since March 2020. More than 100 people have been reported dead due to COVID-19 over the past seven days.
The statewide seven-day average positivity rate is 5.4%, remaining effectively unchanged compared to Monday’s reported average of 5.39%. The state’s average positivity rate has been at 5% or above since March 28
Vaccine
The state of Maryland is in Phase 3 of vaccine eligibility, meaning anyone 16 and over can sign up and receive the vaccine. For Carroll County Health Department clinics, all people age 18 and over who live or work in Carroll County are eligible. Registration is available at cchd.maryland.gov.
No appointments are currently available due to a decrease in vaccine allocation and suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration, but according to the health department website, they hope to share new appointment links on Thursday, April 22 or Thursday, April 29. Those over 65 or in need of assistance to register are asked to call 410-876-4848.
All Marylanders 16 and older can register for an appointment at a mass vaccination site by going to covidvax.maryland.gov or calling 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829).
Community cases
Carroll has reported 7,573 cases of community members who have tested positive — 3,881 women and 3,692 men. Age group data:
0-9: 319
10-19: 902
20-29: 1,329
30-39: 1,058
40-49: 1,014
50-59: 1,405
60-69: 911
70-79: 441
80-89: 167
90-99: 27
Total cases
Carroll has reported 8,801 total COVID-19 cases. ZIP code data (those with fewer than seven cases are not listed):
21784 (Eldersburg/Sykesville): 2,180
21157 (Westminster): 1,961
21158 (Westminster): 1,083
21771 (Mount Airy): 682
21074 (Hampstead): 635
21102 (Manchester): 555
21787 (Taneytown): 531
21048 (Finksburg): 458
21776 (New Windsor): 242
21797 (Woodbine): 160
21104 (Marriottsville): 129
21791 (Union Bridge): 106
21757 (Keymar): 66
Probable cases
In addition to the confirmed cases, Carroll also reported seven new probable cases, making a total of 2,989 probables since the beginning of the pandemic. These are patients who test positive using a rapid antigen test, rather than a molecular test like those offered at state-run testing sites. The health department doesn’t consider these results to be confirmed cases.
Hospitalizations
Eight more hospitalizations were reported Tuesday. As of Sunday, Carroll Hospital was treating 40 patients for COVID-19. Additionally, one other patient was under investigation for the virus, nine critical care unit beds were in use and the hospital had a total patient census of 163 out of an approximate capacity of 170. The 40 coronavirus hospitalizations marked an increase from 36 last week and 33 the week before. There had been 42 patients hospitalized during the peak of the post-holiday surge, but that number steadily decreased until Carroll Hospital had only three COVID-positive patients on March 9.
Baltimore Sun reporter Phil Davis contributed to this article.
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