TOWSON, Md. — More than 1,300 Marylanders are in the hospital with COVID, 88 more than yesterday.
Nearly 300 are in the ICU.
Those numbers are a massive concern, especially in Baltimore County.
"Emergency departments are full. Hospitals and ICU's are filling up quickly. Alarmingly, there are only 14 staffed ICU beds currently available in Baltimore County and the worst is likely still to come," said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski.
14 total free ICU beds for all of Baltimore County.
The county executive says things could get expanded, but they don't have enough health care workers to make that happen.
As for the worst is likely still to come, that's based on conversations he has had with county and city medical leaders.
Governor Hogan said the same thing on national news yesterday...where he said the worst will happen over the next three to five weeks adding it will likely be the worst COVID surge we've ever seen.
For county medical leaders though, the solution remains the same: wear your mask indoors, get vaccinated and get boosted.
If you don't, they say you may be fighting just to stay alive.
"Our COVID patients ask 'Can we get a vaccine when we're in the hospital' and our simple answer: it's too late. At Northwest on Saturday, 80 percent of our COVID-positive patients were unvaccinated. On Sunday, it was 90," said President of Northwest Hospital Craig Carmichael.
About 73 percent of Baltimore County is boosted.
But the county executive says not all of that 73 percent has gotten their booster shot.