D.C., Maryland, and Virginia on Tuesday surpassed 500,000 coronavirus cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, hitting the milestone as numbers continue to rise across the region.
The District reported 270 new cases as its daily new case rate continues to climb, with no new deaths and 29 new hospitalizations. Maryland reported a significant daily caseload of 2,632 new cases, as well as 51 new deaths. Hospitalizations also ticked sharply upward, with an increase of 92 reported, though the state’s seven-day positivity rate dropped slightly to 7.61%.
Virginia, meanwhile, reported 3,860 new COVID-19 cases, along with 52 new deaths and 33 new hospitalizations.
The benchmark comes as new restrictions were implemented in the region this week. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that some high-contact sports would be prohibited in D.C. The new rule applies to those played by high school extracurricular sports activities and competitions, as well as local sports leagues, but not university of professional sports.
The decision marked the latest round of restrictions in the city, after the District previously announced new limitations on indoor and outdoor gatherings, indoor group exercise classes, and alcohol sales. (New limits on indoor dining going into effect next week.)
But while the District’s seven-day rolling average of cases per 100,000, which tracks the trend of how many new coronavirus cases are being added, has been ticking upward since mid-October, officials have been hesitant to implement a new stay at home order.
During a press conference on Monday, D.C. Health director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt voiced concerns about balancing public health considerations with the impact on the business community. She also raised questions about whether the public would follow such strict guidelines.
“It would be much easier for us as the health department to advise the mayor to move us to a stay at home posture, but that would not be widely acceptable by the residents of our community, and the degree to which we would get adherence to that may also be debatable, now nine months into the response,” Nesbitt said. “We have to think about how we can make these incremental changes that will give us some benefit and impact based on the populations that are driving our increasing cases.”
She said D.C. contact tracers had found that some new cases appeared to be connected to Thanksgiving celebrations.
Other jurisdictions have also imposed new rules in response to rising cases recent weeks. In late November, Montgomery County announced new restrictions on indoor gatherings, as well as requiring that masks be worn at all times outdoors. They were already required in public facilities.
The county had previously tightened other restrictions, including reducing occupancy at fitness centers, restaurants and retail businesses from 50% to 25% of listed capacity, and Prince George’s County took similar steps.
Gov. Larry Hogan also set new rules for restaurants in Maryland last month, urging counties to enforce restrictions, and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam restricted indoor and outdoor gatherings to 25 people and expanded the commonwealth’s mask mandate.
