BALTIMORE — Cases and deaths are rising across the state as Maryland reported 2,353 new coronavirus cases Friday and 25 deaths tied to COVID-19, the disease the virus causes.
The state has reported 2,000 or more new cases in five of the past seven days — a number not seen before this period. Friday's case total was the second-highest daily total during the pandemic, behind just Thursday's 2,910.
The state has now seen a thousand or more cases reported for 17 straight days.
Friday's death toll was the second-highest the state has seen since June, with the highest since then being 26 on Tuesday.
The state also reported 1,207 people hospitalized with the virus, up from 1,192 Thursday. Hospitalizations have more than tripled since early October. With some hospitals reaching capacity, Maryland officials have ramped up a program to transfer patients between facilities.
Among those hospitalized, 261 required intensive care, up slightly from 260 Thursday. ICU hospitalizations have more than doubled since the beginning of November.
The new data brings the state to a total of 177,086 confirmed virus cases and 4,245 deaths since March. There has been an increase in demand for testing as the virus has surged, leaving long lines for testing at times in Baltimore.
The state's seven-day testing positivity rate was 7.17%, down slightly from 7.19% Thursday. That figure stood at 4.54% just two weeks ago.
