Maryland reported 2,378 new coronavirus cases on Thanksgiving Day, the fourth-highest single-day total since the onset of the pandemic in March, according to health department statistics released Friday.
The state also had 22 related deaths for the day, the department reported.
Before November, the largest number of infections for one day had been 1,784, but that number is now 2,910, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Health officials have long worried that the holidays could accelerate the spread of the potentially deadly virus as people gather in large numbers and slack on social distancing and face coverings.
The true extent of the holiday’s effect on the pandemic likely won’t be seen for weeks, however, since discernible jumps in the number of hospitalizations and deaths typically lag behind spikes in cases.
As of Friday, the state has roughly 193,000 coronavirus cases and 4,400 deaths, according to the health department.