City of Baltimore and surrounding communities are experiencing high community transmission of COVID-19 – CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County and Anne Arundel County are all areas of high community transmission of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New data indicates there have been 283 cases per 100,000 residents in Baltimore over the past seven days, and the rate of hospitalizations per case has risen to 11.8 admissions per 100,000 cases.

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Howard County Health Department Medical Director Dr. Kelly Russo recommends wearing a mask indoors in public, keeping up to date with vaccines, getting tested if you have symptoms and if you are at high risk of serious illness, consider extra precautions and talk to your doctor.

Despite the higher transmission rate, she said Baltimore County is not reinstating a mask mandate at this time.

“We haven’t talked about a mask mandate. You know, we’re in a very different place now,” Russo said. “Right now what we’re seeing is that yes, there are a lot of cases but the disease seems to be very mild. Fewer hospitalizations. Fewer deaths. We now have treatments widely available, which doesn’t was not true in the past.

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Russo also said another reason they are not considering a mask mandate is the county’s high vaccination rate. Data shows that 83.6% of county residents are currently vaccinated, according to the county’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said he will consult with the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, and the city’s hospital partners on whether or not a warrant is needed.

“Dr. Dzirasa let me know late last night about this,” Scott said. “She and I are going to meet and discuss what course of action we’re going to take.”

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Russo says they could expect to see additional cases after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.