Montgomery County’s COVID-19 metrics have continued to show a steady increase in cases, positivity rate and hospitalizations.
The county recorded 98 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, tied for the most since late April. The county also added 98 cases on July 31.
Montgomery County has had 72,481 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic started in March 2020.
Cases had declined steadily for the first six months of this year, with the county adding fewer than 10 on many days in June. But as the Delta variant spread, cases began to rise again in July.
Between July 5 and Tuesday, the seven-day average case rate went from 1.1 cases per 100,000 residents to 6.9, according to the county’s health department. Additionally, the test positivity rate rose from 0.4% on July 4 to 2% on Monday.
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 have also increased in Montgomery County. On July 30, 1.3% of hospital beds in the county were occupied with COVID-19 patients, compared to 0.3% on June 30.
The county has not recorded any new deaths from the virus since July 30. Since the pandemic started, 1,583 people in the county have died from COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, 71.1% of Montgomery County’s population was fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The County Council is scheduled to decide on Thursday whether to reimplement an indoor mask mandate for public and private buildings.