December 24th, 2021 by WCBC Radio

The state of Maryland has surpassed the threshold of 1,500 COVID-19 hospitalizations, triggering additional actions by hospitals, as required by a Maryland Department of Health order issued earlier this month. To date, Maryland has reported 6,869 additional COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, an increased positivity rate of 12.8% and 1,505 people are hospitalized. The state has also not updated the number of deaths as of Dec. 4. With the Omicron variant now spreading, Governor Larry Hogan earlier this week announced an additional $100 million in emergency funding for hospitals and nursing homes to help address urgent staffing needs…