Through the first seven days of December, Montgomery County has added an average of 436 new cases of COVID-19 each day.
That is significantly higher than the first week of any other month during the pandemic. The next highest total was in May. Through the first week of that month, Montgomery County averaged 247 new cases per day.
This month, Montgomery County set a new record for the largest daily increase the county has had during the pandemic — on Dec. 4, when 631 new cases were reported.
The county on Monday reported 451 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing its total to 36,449.
Eight new confirmed deaths were reported Monday, for a new total of 946.
There have been an additional 44 “probable” COVID-19 deaths, meaning the virus is listed as the cause, but it was not confirmed with a laboratory test.
Across Maryland, there have been 217,329 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,705 deaths.
The state’s test positivity rate dropped slightly on Monday to 7.9%. Montgomery County’s test positivity rate is about 6.6%.