Today on Midday, two leading public health experts provide updates on efforts to mitigate COVID-19, the outlook for testing, and redoubled efforts to reach out to the African American community here in Baltimore.
Earlier in today's program, Tom spoke with Dr. Lisa Maragakis, a senior specialist in epidemiology and infectious diseases with Johns Hopkins Medicine, and a member of the Governor's MD Coronavirus Response Team. Their conversation is posted separately on this site. Now, Tom talks with Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, the Commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department, who joins us on the line to discuss the local dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maryland officials reported Monday they had confirmed 854 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, reversing a brief decline in the number of new daily infections. The state now has at least 13,684 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The state is also reporting that since Saturday, 34 more people have died, or probably died, from the disease, bringing Maryland's COVID-19 death toll up to 582 people.
Prince George’s and Montgomery counties continue to lead the state in coronavirus cases, with 3,583 and 2,647 cases, respectively. But according to the state report, the largest number of coronavirus cases per zip code is 269 in 21215, which includes part of Baltimore City and Baltimore County.
The area includes the FutureCare Lochearn facility, a nursing home in the city where at least 170 people — 129 residents and 41 staffers — recently tested positive for COVID-19.
