ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today announced that COVID-19 hospitalizations in the State of Maryland have dropped below 1,500, as the state continues to report substantial declines in health metrics. Today marks the end of the 30-day state of emergency that the governor declared last month.
Last night, in his State of the State address, the governor said, “With swift and decisive actions and the vigilance of Marylanders, I’m pleased to report that we have turned back another dangerous variant of COVID-19, and tomorrow, the state of emergency will end in Maryland. Our long-term public health response will continue. Our surge capacity, our testing and tracing operations, our vaccine clinics—all those things will remain in place as part of the ongoing operations of government.”
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Maryland continues to report substantial declines in key health metrics:
- Maryland’s COVID-19 case rate has declined by 85% to 31.5/100K , and the state continues to report the lowest case rate in the country.
- Maryland’s COVID-19 positivity rate has declined by 76% to 7.15%, and the state is reporting the fifth-lowest positivity rate in the country.
- Maryland’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined by 57% to 1,458, and the state’s hospitalizations are dropping at the second fastest rate in the country.
In addition, Maryland is nearing 95% of adults vaccinated with at least one dose, another major milestone for the state’s vaccination campaign. State health officials continue to urge eligible Marylanders to get boosted for maximum protection against the Omicron variant.
The state has taken a number of actions during the 30-day of state emergency, including:
- Enacting executive orders to assist hospitals and nursing homes in addressing staffing shortages;
- Mobilizing 1,000 members of the Maryland National Guard;
- Standing up hospital-based testing sites and acquiring more rapid at-home test kits;
- Distributing more than 20 million N95/KN95 masks;
- Expanding testing for staff and visitors at nursing homes; and
- Ordering a new round of antibody testing for nursing home residents.