WESTMINSTER, Md. — New COVID cases are plummeting in Maryland as the state's positivity rate dipped back down to single-digit numbers for the first time since late December. But according to state health department figures, January was the deadliest month of the entire pandemic in the Old Line state.
At least 1,552 Marylanders died in January as a result of the omicron surge, according to the Maryland Department of Health. The previous monthly death record was 1,392, set in December 2020.
Among those who died in January was a beloved firefighter, who was laid to rest Sunday.
Robert "Bobby" Jones was 59, and had been fighting fires -- as a professional and a volunteer -- since he was 16, according to his colleagues at the Reese Community Volunteer Fire Company in Carroll County Maryland.
“Bobby was just like one of my brothers and he's being greatly missed,” said Kenneth Hyde, president of the volunteer force.
Jones continued to volunteer at the firehouse after retiring as a professional firefighter in Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County. He was exposed to COVID while running ambulance calls so his passing is considered a line-of-duty death, according to Hyde.
“Bobby had two of them the last week he worked,” Hyde said. “I thought I'd be the one to catch it. It's very scary.”
Jone's death was part of a surge that pushed Maryland hospitals to the breaking point. Gov. Larry Hogan even declared a 30-day state of emergency on Jan. 4.
“It's really tragic and our frontline caregivers are really saddened by that,” said Maryland Hospital Association CEO Bob Atlas of the record number of deaths. “Our hospitalizations are down from the peak that we had just a couple of weeks ago by about half which is great."
Atlas said nursing vacancies are up 50% since august because so many have quit under the stress.
“We're hopeful, but the burden on our hospitals is still tremendous," Atlas said. "We have a lot of people who need care for things other than COVID. So every bed that frees up from a COVID patient discharged is immediately filled with patients with something other than COVID."
The volunteers at Jone's firehouse said they are deeply saddened the improvements didn't come in time for their colleague.
“We have seen calls drop off, so that's good," Hyde said. “Bob is actually the second paramedic here that had COVID. Bobby succumbed and the other guy is doing better, so that's a good sign for us.”
Jones’ vaccine status before his death has not been made public, Hyde said.
According to Maryland health authorities, 80% of the people who died during the record-setting surge were not fully vaccinated.
Despite a dramatic turnaround in new cases, Hogan warned during a recent press conference that deaths will continue.
“One point I want to make is that deaths are always a lagging indicator, usually a few weeks behind cases and hospitalizations," Hogan said. "So we do anticipate the number of deaths to continue to rise in the short term before peaking, and then also beginning to decline, along with all the rest of the metrics.”
At least 13,227 Marylanders have died of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic.
State health authorities note that during the most recent wave, there has been a proportionally smaller number of deaths relative to cases than in prior waves thanks to vaccinations and more effective therapies for infected people.
But the numbers of cases during the omicron wave were so high, that even the smaller percentage of deaths added up to a record-setting number, Atlas said.
Health officials continue to advise residents to get a vaccine and a booster shot, get tested if symptoms emerge, and to continue wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing.
There are currently hundreds of vaccination and testing sites operating in Maryland, and 20 million N95 and KN95 masks were made available through testing sites and other Health Department locations across the state.
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