BALTIMORE, MD-- — As vaccines have increased over the past month, so has our positivity rate.
It's at 4.59% as of Tuesday, March 23. It’s up 0.15% from Monday, and it’s at its highest since Valentine’s Day.
It's the continuation of a slow rise the state has since the beginning of March.
Maryland’s lowest positivity rate was 3.26% on March 3.
It has gone up all but one day since then.
That rise is reinforcing a message from the state-- If you even have the slightest fear that you have the virus, get a COVID test.
“We are not a point of herd immunity, that's looking like it's over the summer, potentially sooner if the vaccine comes from the feds, but at the end of the day people need to get tested if they have symptoms,” said Jon Weinstein, the Director of Maryland’s COVID-19 Testing Task Force. “If they've been exposed, and especially if they haven't been vaccinated. The CDC also has suggested if you have been vaccinated, and you've been exposed and/or are experiencing symptoms, you should get a test. “
That testing director added his task force is adapting how they test in the state, focusing on community-based testing sites, as well as testing multipurpose COVID-care centers where people can get vaccinated, tested, and even treated under one roof.
The pilot of such a site is getting set up right now in Prince George’s County.
It’ll open up near the Six Flags mass vaccination site on April 3.
