The novel Coronavirus has not yet begun to slow down. In fact it seems to be speeding up. This is news that nobody wanted to hear. Everyone wants to leave their house. Most of them want to get back to their daily lives. Nobody who wants to have to worry about if they might contract COVID-19 or wear a mask every time they leave the house. Even students are having to make many changes during this time. There is a huge difference with learning face to face compared to through a computer. The fact that students can’t have questions answered quickly and directly, they have to wait for an answer while they can’t continue their work. These times are affecting everyone. 

     The cases in the United States have rapidly grown in every state. The number of deaths have also risen in great succession. The total numbers throughout the United States as of April 9th, are 427,460 confirmed cases with 14,696 confirmed deaths. The 427,460 confirmed cases is about a 32,000 case jump from the previous day. That is a big jump but wasn’t the biggest this week. The biggest jump came on April 6th which was about a 34,000 case jump from the previous day. Anyone can follow these updates by the CDC on their website here at CDC. 

    The number of Maryland cases have also rapidly grown in the past week. The current number of confirmed cases in the state of Maryland are 6,968, a 783 case jump from the previous day. Currently, there are 171 confirmed deaths in the state, with there being a 33 death jump from the day before. There have been 1,413 people who have needed to be hospitalized because of this serious illness. The county with the leading number of cases is Prince George’s county with 1,716 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Frederick county may not be one of the top counties in terms of cases but still has a concerning 289 cases. Prince George’s currently has a state leading 42 deaths while Frederick has 9 deaths. In order to follow the case amounts throughout the state, go to https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/ for daily updates. 

     Within the last few days, the state of Maryland has released statistics on the races of the confirmed cases and deaths. According to https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/, Covid-19 is hitting the African American community the hardest. With 2,304 cases throughout the state of Maryland, and 61 deaths, the impact of this disease has been greatest on African Americans in the state of Maryland. Caucasion citizens rank second with 1,694 of the cases and 45 deaths. All other ethnic subgroups have posted much lower numbers of infections.  

      Marylanders need to continue to be cautious with everything they do and everywhere they go. Even though Governor Hogan issued a stay at home order, not everyone is going to follow the rules as they should. People are going to tell themselves that they can’t contract the virus and will be fine even if they do. Even if someone were to contract the virus and be okay, passing it on to someone else is the likely possibility and they aren’t always going to know that person’s medical situation. That means other people’s health has to be put into consideration with every move taken. Everyone just needs to stay home and stay away from others. That is how COVID-19 will slow down and everyday lives can start back up again.