D.C., Maryland, and Virginia all reported their highest COVID-19 case counts since early June on Wednesday.

D.C. tallied 80 new cases, its highest caseload since June 9. Virginia recorded 1,084 new cases, its largest since June 7. Maryland’s 756 new cases marked its highest count since June 5. In total, there are now 159,569 known cases of the virus in the three jurisdictions.

The District

D.C. recorded three deaths Wednesday, breaking a five-day streak of no fatalities, for a total death toll of 571. D.C. Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt recently cautioned that the death toll is a “lagging indicator” that follows weeks after changes in case trends and hospitalizations.

The District also lost ground on its transmission rate metric, one of the indicators city leaders are tracking to decide when to further reopen. The coronavirus transmission rate — how many others a person with the virus is likely to infect — has risen above 1. The District is looking for five sustained days with a rate below 1 before entering Phase Three. (If that number stays below one, the epidemic will eventually stop.)

The positivity rate for those tested for the virus in D.C. stands at 3% as of July 7, the latest day for which data is available. The city is looking for, and has achieved, a rate below 10% for seven days. Fewer than 6% of D.C. residents tested for coronavirus antibodies have them, according to a Washington Post investigation. These antibodies indicate someone has had the virus and may have immunity.

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Virginia

Virginia reported 15 deaths Wednesday, a little higher than its seven-day moving average, and has tallied 1,992 fatalities in all.

The commonwealth’s caseload has trended up since June 21, and today’s count (1,084) tops its seven-day moving average of 879 new cases. Its positivity rate now stands at 7.2%; that indicator has also trended up from its lowest point of 5.8% on June 23.

However, the trends for Northern Virginia—which has been a hotspot for the virus—look dramatically different from the rest of the state. Cases fell steeply in Northern Virginia beginning at the end of May and then plateaued in mid-June. In the rest of the commonwealth, cases began ticking up in mid-June, and climbed more steeply in the past week.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said most of the increase in cases can be attributed to new infections in counties along the Eastern Shore, fueled by young people flouting social distancing guidelines

Northam said Tuesday that he would step up enforcement of his executive order requiring people to cover their faces in public indoor spaces by directing teams of inspectors to conduct surprise visits to businesses.

A variety of state and local officials in Virginia and Maryland beach towns have expressed concern in recent days over young people’s relaxed attitudes about wearing masks and social distancing.

Maryland

Maryland tallied seven new deaths today, for 3,341 fatalities in all. Thirty-two more people have been hospitalized, totaling 447. This is the state’s highest number of patients since July 1.

In a letter sent Tuesday to county officials, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan expressed concern about the high infection rate among young people and said an increasing number of cases have been linked to bars and restaurants not complying with the state’s restrictions.

The state’s positivity rate stands at 4.49%, down 0.15% from yesterday, and is back down after going up for two days. The positivity rate for people under age 35, however, is now 84% higher than for those 35 and older. It’s not clear if that is due to a higher proportion of sick people being tested.

Prince George’s County, which has the highest number of cases in the state and the second-highest toll after Montgomery County, announced Tuesday that it will test all public safety employees for COVID-19 in the coming days.