BALTIMORE – Maryland confirmed another 859 new coronavirus cases and 12 deaths linked COVID-19 Monday.
It’s the first time the state has counted fewer than 1,000 new cases since March 30. The 1,669 cases reported Sunday were the most the state has added in a single day since Jan. 31, when Maryland tallied 1,747 new confirmed cases.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations increased by 34 to 1,165 — 260 of whom required intensive care, as of Monday.
While the state says more than 1.1 million Marylanders have been fully vaccinated, an increase in the infection rate that began in late March has continued into April as the state’s average testing positivity rate remains above 5%.
That’s the level the World Health Organization recommends jurisdictions stay below before relaxing restrictions aimed at curbing the virus.
The state’s positivity rate dipped slightly on Monday to 5.79%.
