This story was updated at 12:10 p.m. Dec. 4, 2020, to correct a reference to the previous record number of cases in a day.
Montgomery County on Friday morning again broke its record for the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in a day — 631, an increase of 1.8%.
The county has now had 35,056 known cases. The number of new cases has been rapidly increasing during a second surge sweeping across the state and nation.
The previous highest daily increase in the county was 533 cases on May 19, followed by 505 cases on Monday, 465 on Nov. 19 and 454 on May 1.
In August and September, the county’s daily average of new cases ranged from around 65 to 96, based on seven days at a time.
But several weeks later, daily averages, for a week at a time, were:
• 144 the week of Oct. 25
• 168 the week of Nov. 1
• 223 the week of Nov. 8
• 308 the week of Nov. 15
• 273 the week of Nov. 22
For the first four days of December, the average daily increase in the county has been 414.
County officials have said they are considering further COVID-19 restrictions to try to cut back the spread of the virus and would prefer a regional approach in conjunction with other jurisdictions.
The Maryland Department of Health also reported five new confirmed deaths from the virus in the county on Friday, bringing the total to 933.
Montgomery County continues to have the second highest number of cases behind Prince George’s County, which has 43,000.
Montgomery has had the most confirmed deaths of any jurisdiction. Prince George’s is in second, with 923 confirmed deaths.
There have been 44 “probable” deaths in Montgomery County. “Probable” deaths have the coronavirus listed as the cause of death on certificates but have not been confirmed by laboratory tests yet.
Across the state, cases increased by 3,792 — or 1.9% — since Thursday morning.
There have been 4,630 people who have died from the virus in Maryland. Nearly 1,600 people are currently hospitalized with the virus in the state.
