What does release from home isolation mean in Maryland?
Since the beginning of this pandemic, one metric intrigued many of us in Maryland: the cumulative number of people released from isolation. Initially (before the data release via API, when there was only the MDH dashboard), it was even thought to be the number of hospital patients released from isolation. It’s not: the API page mentions: Total Number Released from Isolation data layer is a collection of the statewide cumulative total of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 that have been reported each day by each local health department via the ESSENCE system as having been released from home isolation. As “recovery” can mean different things as people experience COVID-19 disease to varying degrees of severity, MDH reports on individuals released from isolation. “Released from isolation” refers to those who have met criteria and are well enough to be released from home isolation. Some of these individuals may have been hospitalized at some point. ...