Some of the COVID-19 metrics in Maryland’s Howard County are up more than 50% compared to the last week of September, and the county executive is warning that it could get worse with the holiday season approaching. As of Sunday morning, the county had a 2.73% positivity rate, compared to a 1.81% positivity rate during the final week of September. During that same time frame, cases per 100,000 in the county went from 5.31 to 8.73. County Executive Calvin Ball said in a tweet 32% of the county’s population has been tested for the coronavirus.
As of 9am, our positivity rate is 2.73% and a total of 32% of our population has been tested. This is an increase from 1.81% in the last week of September.
Our cases per 100,000 of our population is currently 8.73, which is an increase from 5.31 during the same timeframe. pic.twitter.com/NZB7jNitZS — Calvin Ball (@HoCoGovExec) October 25, 2020
Ball said while he understands residents may be feeling “quarantine fatigue,” the county’s contact tracing teams have found that 35% of cases are caused by family gatherings. That’s the No. 1 cause of contracting the virus in the country, followed by attending house parties. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and other winter holidays are just a few weeks away, prompting Ball to remind residents to be cautious.
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