Key points for today
• Cases in Kent County increased by two to 160.
• Of those cases, 109 (68%) are connected to outbreaks at congregate living facilities, which include nursing homes, assisted living facilities, state and local facilities, and group homes with 10 or more occupants.
• The county has at least 26 deaths related to COVID-19, with the state reporting the deaths of 26 residents at Kent County facilities.
• The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland is now at 48,423, an increase of 736 in the last 24 hours.
• Of the state’s 2,270 deaths, 53 were in the last 24 hours; another 122 deaths in Maryland are likely due to the novel coronavirus.
• About 19% of the state’s cases and 57% of the state’s deaths from COVID-19 are connected to outbreaks at congregate living facilities.
• Of the 9,315 cases within facilities, 6,394 are of residents and 2,921 are of staff members. Maryland reports 1,276 residents and 14 staffers have died as a result of COVID-19.
The Spy updates this chart between 2 and 3 p.m. Statewide data is updated about 10 a.m. each day; counties may update data throughout the day until 5 p.m. Hopkins updates its map data throughout the day.
Congregate living facilities data is updated weekly on Wednesdays.
If county and state data conflict, county data is reported.
* Maryland and Cecil County report the total released from isolation.
** For Kent County deaths, The Spy reports the higher of the total deaths reported on the state and county websites or the total deaths in facilities. For Queen Anne’s County deaths, The Spy reports the total deaths listed on the county’s website. State totals reflect the address listed on the death certificate, which is provided by the family or the funeral home, and may not reflect the county of residence at the time the patient contracted coronavirus.
Additional information
• There currently are 1,338 people hospitalized — 818 in acute care and 520 in intensive care. The number of hospitalized patients increased by 23 in the last 24 hours.
• Of the state’s 48,423 cases, 8,281 patients have ever been hospitalized for treatment.
• Maryland says 3,401 patients have been released from isolation, including 67 in the last 24 hours.
• The state reports 213,632 negative test results, including 6,832 in the last 24 hours.
The graph below shows the statewide trends for total cases, total ever hospitalized, and total deaths.
marley morris says
Today’s Baltimore Sun reports the number of deaths for Kent County as fifteen (15) (“Maryland Cases By the Numbers”, Page 12) Yet, The Spy tells us the death count is twenty six (26). That is quite a discrepancy. How is it the Sun and the Spy are using such wildly different data bases for official information?
John Griep says
As of Wednesday morning, the state reports 15 total deaths in Kent County. Also as of Wednesday morning, the state reports that 26 residents of Kent County congregate living facilities, such as nursing homes, had died as a result of COVID-19.
Why the discrepancy? The “total” deaths reported daily by the state are based on the county of residence listed on the death certificate. The county of residence is provided by the family and/or the funeral director and does not necessarily reflect the county where the person was living when he or she died.
How does that work? Here’s an example: Patient A was living in XYZ Nursing Home in Chestertown when the facility had a COVID-19 outbreak. Patient A got COVID-19 and later died. Patient A had been living at XYZ for the last 6 months, but had lived in Queen Anne’s County for most of his life and his family still lived there. The family listed Patient A’s county of residence on the death certificate as Queen Anne’s County. The state includes Patient A’s death among the deaths in Queen Anne’s County. The state also includes Patient A’s death among the resident deaths at Kent County congregate living facilities.
Why did we use Queen Anne’s County in the example? The state, as of Wednesday morning, reports 12 deaths in Queen Anne’s County; the county health department reports 4. Based on previous reporting, we know that discrepancy is based on the county of residence listed on the death certificate, with some of those 8 additional deaths being residents of Kent and Anne Arundel county facilities when they contracted COVID-19.
In the case of Kent and Queen Anne’s counties, The Spy made the decision to list a) for Queen Anne’s, the total deaths provided by the county health department; b) for Kent, the higher of the total deaths or the resident deaths reported by the state.
Why did we make that decision? We felt it would be ridiculous to report that Kent County had 15 total deaths, yet had 26 deaths among nursing home residents (using today’s numbers for the example).
Meanwhile, the true number of COVID-19 deaths in Kent County is likely at least 28. In late April, when the county was reporting seven deaths, five were related to nursing homes.
Maria Wood says
Why not use the same system of reporting for both counties?
marley morris says
“The state includes Patient A’s death among the deaths in Queen Anne’s County. The state also includes Patient A’s death among the resident deaths at Kent County congregate living facilities.”
Can this be true? Counting the same death twice? It is hard to believe the state is knowingly engaging in this practice, has it not occurred to anyone this is artificially inflating the number of fatalities. Further confusing the public, making it more difficult to get a true picture of the seriousness of this public health crisis. Makes no sense whatever.
John Griep says
Not exactly. It does artificially inflate/deflate the numbers in particular counties, but the deaths are not counted twice in the statewide totals.
Let’s look at the May 11 numbers.
At that time, the state and the Kent County Health Department reported 13 deaths in the county; yet the state also reported that 15 residents of a Chestertown nursing home had died as a result of COVID-19.
In Queen Anne’s, the county reported zero COVID-19 deaths, but the state listed eight. The Queen Anne’s County Health Department said five of those eight had been residents of a Kent County nursing home. (I believe the other three had been in Anne Arundel County nursing homes.)
Based on that information, The Spy reported that Kent County had 18 total deaths (the 13 listed by the state and the 5 that had been listed for Queen Anne’s) and 15 nursing home deaths. We also reported that Queen Anne’s had zero total deaths and zero nursing home deaths.
John Griep says
Because we want the data to report the most accurate picture available of total COVID-19 deaths in each county. If 26 residents of Kent County nursing homes died of COVID-19, then the county’s total deaths should be at least 26, not the 15 reported by the state and county.
Using 15 as the number would nearly halve Kent County’s per capita death rate; using 12 as the total deaths in Queen Anne’s County would triple that county’s per capita death rate. And those rates then would be inaccurate based on data that everyone acknowledges is flawed.
We rely on the Queen Anne’s County statistics on total deaths in that county because the health department there has reviewed the cases and deaths and published its on numbers based on its review. The Kent County health department simply lists the total deaths provided by the state.
Sally N Abbott says
Could this update please include a report on testing in the counties. Is it true Kent County’s goal is to do 60 tests per week? Why can’t labs here handle more than that?