BALTIMORE — We’re seeing a spike in coronavirus numbers across Maryland.
These numbers come as we’re a day from Halloween.
Fans are coming back for the Steelers-Ravens Game, and Election Day is Tuesday.
Coronavirus fatigue is setting in for a lot of people and it’s a dangerous time for that to happen.
On the state level, there’s political back and forth about how we’re tracking and presenting the numbers and that’s creating more confusion.
For two days in a row Maryland has seen more than 900 new cases of Coronavirus and the positivity rate jumped to 3.71 percent after several weeks before 3%.
Stephanie Bekker was walking around with her two sons at the Inner Harbor and told is concerned that the numbers are going up again.
“We’re just preparing to hunker down again for flu season and the winter,” Bekker said.
In Baltimore City, new cases are up 120% compared to where we were four weeks ago.
On Friday, Mayor Jack Young urged people to keep their masks on and avoid large crowds or even smaller groups.
“We are coming to a time of year where the risks are going to increase,” Young said. “The weather is getting and people will want to spend more time together indoors. A lot of the cases we’re seeing are from indoor family gatherings.”
Governor Larry Hogan extended the State of Emergency.
It effects the election with more restrictions.
Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot wrote a letter to Governor Hogan expressing concern with changes in how the state provides data on positive COVID-19 cases.
Saying the state now provides data on all COVID-19 tests including people who took more than one test, which he said can lower the positivity rate in the state.
Franchot recommended reporting the positive rates of cases per 100,00 people or dividing the number of individuals testing positive over the total number of people tested.
Department of Health Secretary Robert R Neall says no calculations have been changed and called the Comptrollers claims, politically motivated and “fundamentally irresponsible.
The death rate isn’t spiking with the positivity rate right now and that has some people like Miqueas Barreiro optimistic as long as people do the right things.
“I feel like this is kind of like trial and Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Barreiro. “Those are obviously bigger holidays when it’s more traditional to get together with people so I’m hoping by that time things are opening up and things will be a little more comfortable so we can have some really good holiday.”
Since the first state of emergency was declared on March 5th nearly 143,000 have been confirmed positive and more than 3,900 people have died.
The Governor has renewed the state of emergency every month since then.
