SALISBURY, Md.- Wicomico County health leaders say they are seeing progress in the fight against COVID-19 and residents are helping to flatten the curve. But, some worry that momentum will be lost as more people come to Maryland's Lower Shore this summer.
Big crowds were seen up and down the boardwalk in Ocean City for the Memorial Day holiday, raising concerns for health officials as more people travel through the area.
"Our biggest concern, and my concern, is just watching all those people come to Ocean City and the beaches this past weekend and the weekend before that," Dr. Charles Silvia, chief medical officer at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, says. "Are we going to spread things again? Could we have another surge? And we sure could."
Key metrics, like hospitalizations, are flattening in some counties across the state. Atlantic General Hospital in Worcester County says the number of hospitalizations there have slightly declined, but the number has generally been low and steady. Progress is also being made in Wicomico County.
"Every jurisdiction is expanding testing so we're going to continue to see our numbers increase but the numbers that are plateauing are the numbers of hospitalizations as well as the number of deaths related to COVID," Lori Brewster, health officer for Wicomico and Somerset counties, says.
At its peak, PRMC says it had around 70 patients in its hospital for COVID-19. Right now, there are about 34 people battling the virus at PRMC, a number that has held steady over the last week. While good progress has been made, health leaders say now is not the time for people to choose to relax some of the personal safety precautions, like mask wearing and social distancing, that have been put in place.
"I know people are just so tired of this but we just to keep our guard up, especially when we have people come from out of state and they can bring it and leave it for us when they go back home," Silvia says. "We just don't want to go there again if we can help it."
Silvia adds, "We just want you all to do the best you can and try not to get too frustrated but again simple things... it's what we need you to do. We need your help. We cannot do this by ourselves."
As summer quickly approaches and many more people will be looking to get outdoors, Brewster says there's always a concern for another spike in COVID-19 cases.
"I think if people remember all of the good work they did during the stay at home with only going out when they need to and wearing a mask when they're out in public settings, I think that we will continue to plateau. So just abiding by the governor's executive orders, I think would be important," Brewster says.
Both Silvia and Brewster also say more people are not seeking medical care for other issues besides COVID-19 because of fear for the virus. PRMC says its hospital and ER are safe and open.
