UPDATE: View the latest NottinghamMD.com COVID-19 reports here.

Original story below…

——

NOTTINGHAM, MD—The Maryland Department of Health on Wednesday reported that statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations increased over the past 24 hours while the positivity rate dropped slightly.

As of Wednesday morning, there have been 75,016 cases of novel coronavirus in Maryland. The statewide positivity rate is now at 4.49%, a decrease from Tuesday’s 4.64%. Baltimore County’s positivity rate now stands at 5.14%, a slight increase from Tuesday’s 5.08%.

There have been 3,209 related deaths and 447 individuals are currently hospitalized…an increase of 32 patients since Tuesday. There have been 605,072 negative test results.

Baltimore County has confirmed 9,153 COVID-19 cases and and 480 deaths (note: “probable” deaths are not included in the totals below).

Case breakdown by zip code in NottinghamMD.com’s coverage area:

• 21128 (Perry Hall) – 83 cases
• 21162 (White Marsh) – 38 cases
• 21234 (Hillendale/Parkville/Carney) – 721 cases
• 21236 (Overlea/Fullerton/Nottingham) – 313 cases

Previous COVID-19 reports can be viewed here.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have come under fire in recent weeks for lumping positive COVID-19 tests and coronavirus antibody tests together when counting new case totals, according to LiveScience.com.

A positive antibody test is described by the CDC as follows:

“A positive test result shows you may have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there is a chance a positive result means that you have antibodies from an infection with a virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses), such as the one that causes the common cold.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ashish Jha, the K. T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard and the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, told The Atlantic when he was informed of the CDC’s case-tracking methods. “How could the CDC make that mistake? This is a mess.”

The widespread use of the practice means that it remains difficult to know exactly how much the country’s ability to test people who are actively sick with COVID-19 has improved, according to The Atlantic.

It also remains unclear as to where the high number of new cases might be coming from given that the statewide positivity rate remains flat (as evidenced by the MDH chart below), assuming the same number of tests are now being administered on a daily basis. NottinghamMD.com has reached out to the Maryland Department of Health for clarification and this story will be updated with their response.

Meanwhile, Governor Larry Hogan has announced that he will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. to provide at COVID-19 update.

“Maryland has now completed 855,941 COVID-19 tests, including a new record of 21,535 tests reported in the last 24 hours,” said Governor Hogan on Wednesday. “The statewide positivity rate has decreased to 4.49%, and there are currently 447 total hospitalizations.”

“I will be holding a press conference today at 4 p.m.,” Governor Hogan added.

View the Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery here.

Additional charts and data can be found below.