Name: Maryland COVID-19 hospitalizations surge as UK variant spreads
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Maryland COVID-19 hospitalizations surge as UK variant spreads

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Breaking NewsThe Maryland Department of Health says people under 30 now make up almost half of all new coronavirus cases in the state.4:48 PM EDT April 16, 2021WASHINGTON — The state of Maryland has seen surging COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past month – and health officials are pointing to the so-called UK variant and rising cases among young people as a big part of it.On Monday, the Maryland Department of Health reported there were more than 1,200 patients hospitalized with the coronavirus in the state. That’s a more than 60% increase from just a month prior.According to Bob Atlas, president and CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association, the new cases are beginning to strain the system across the state, particularly in places like Baltimore and Harford County.“Our hospitalization rate is among the highest in the country, has been for several weeks, we’re about the sixth or seventh highest of all states, which is concerning,” Atlas said.Slightly more positive is that, so far, coronavirus-related ICU cases haven’t been rising quite as quickly as general coronavirus hospitalizations. A big part of that, Atlas said, may be that patients under 30 are now making up an increasing percentage of new cases – roughly 44% of all new cases over the past week, according to MDH’s dashboard.“Hospital presidents are telling me, definitely, they’re seeing a younger mix,” Atlas said. “And while it is true they’re not using intensive care as much, they are sick. Definitely sick.”Also troubling, many of those new patients are under the age of 30 – a cohort that now makes up 44% of all new cases in the state. Doctors tell us they're presenting with more GI symptoms than previous cases – again, possibly due to the 's prevalence. — Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord)Dr. Kelly Anne Gebo, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, told WUSA9 her COVID-19 patient load has increased dramatically over the past three weeks. And, she says, those patients are presenting with different symptoms than before.“We’re seeing more GI symptoms than we have been previously. We’re seeing much more nausea, vomiting and diarrhea,” she said. “Fewer older people, but a lot more in the 20-to-50-year-old range, and they seem to be sicker.”A possible explanation for both the increase in cases and those new symptoms? The so-called “UK variant” – the B.1.1.7 strain of the novel coronavirus.Atlas, Gebo and Dr. Clifford Mitchell, the director of the Environmental Health Bureau for the Maryland Department of Health, all point to the UK variant as one of the main drivers of this latest wave of cases. Mitchell says the UK variant now makes up the “vast majority” of the variant cases in the state and nationwide. According to some estimates, the than the original strain of the novel coronavirus.“What that means is it's even more important for people to observe social distancing, and other recommendations related to facial masking, because it's likely that if you're next to somebody who has one of those variants, it will not take as many viral particles for you to become infected,” Mitchell said.According to the Centers for Disease Control, nationwide and in Maryland the UK variant now makes up about 44% of all variant cases – making it far and away the most predominant variant of the virus. The CDC says Maryland ranks 11th in the nation for identified cases of the variant – more than 660 as of Friday.That number is far lower than the actual count, Mitchell said, because Maryland doesn’t do genetic sequencing of every case of the virus. While he couldn’t give an exact figure, he said the UK variant now makes up a “very significant portion” of all new cases.Paid AdvertisementNotifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings.No ThanksAllow

Breaking NewsThe Maryland Department of Health says people under 30 now make up almost half of all new coronavirus cases in the state.4:48 PM EDT April 16, 2021WASHINGTON — The state of Maryland has seen surging COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past month – and health officials are pointing to the so-called UK variant and rising cases among young people as a big part of it.On Monday, the Maryland Department of Health reported there were more than 1,200 patients hospitalized with the coronavirus in the state. That’s a more than 60% increase from just a month prior.According to Bob Atlas,...

Maryland COVID-19 hospitalizations surge as UK variant spreads

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