BALTIMORE — On Tuesday, Maryland's Department of Health began releasing the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19.
The latest numbers have 1433 people hospitalized in the state. Of those, 907 are being treated in an acute care unit, while 526 are under intensive care.
So what is the difference between acute and intensive care?
We spoke to Amy Goodwin from the Maryland Hospital Association to help us better understand.
According to Goodwin, whenever someone seeks treatment at a hospital, they automatically go into an acute care bed. Essentially it means a patient requires medical care that they would not be able to get in an outpatient setting.
Acute care is for someone who's recovering from surgery or who needs treatment for a medical condition or disease.
Intensive care is for patients in need of specialized, complex care. Nurses and doctors in these units are specially trained in assessing and treating such patients.
So far in Maryland, 3158 people have had to go to the hospital over the virus.
As of Tuesday, 584 people in Maryland have died as result. 68 other deaths have been deemed probable as it relates to the coronavirus.
