COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Montgomery County are increasing “at an extremely rapid pace,” according to Montgomery County Commissioners Chair Dr. Val Arkoosh, writes Jad Sleiman for the WHYY.

In just the past week, officials have announced 1,828 new positive cases in the county as well as seven new deaths.

“I want to remind residents to work at home if they can, to minimize unnecessary trips, and avoid social gatherings,” said Arkoosh.

She also added that there is the continued strong availability of COVID-19 testing across the county and urged everybody “who wants or needs to be tested to get tested.”

“The more we are able to test our community – whether you have symptoms or not – the more we will know what is happening across the county and be able to quickly suppress any outbreaks,” she said.

According to county officials, none of the people who have died from the coronavirus in the last week were in long-term care facilities. However thirty of the newly detected COVID-19 cases were found in these types of facilities. Read more about the rise in hospitalizations at the WHYY by clicking here.