COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Maryland hit a new record Wednesday, and public health officials warn that the trend is likely to continue.

In response, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said he plans to announce new restrictions on businesses in his county on Thursday.

During a press conference Wednesday with the rest of the leaders of Maryland’s eight largest jurisdictions, Pittman said the new restrictions should come from the governor.

“This should be done statewide because we have one health care system in this state,” he said. “We could stop this virus in its tracks in Anne Arundel County, but our two hospitals would still have the patients coming in from other counties.”

Pittman said projections show hospitalizations hitting 10,000 patients statewide, overwhelming the healthcare system.

He said the current situation is different from the COVID-19 surge the state experienced in the spring.

Then, “there were hospital staff that could be recruited from other jurisdictions that did not yet have COVID surges,” Pittman said. “That's very difficult right now to bring in the staff to handle a surge because every state in the country — the whole country is ablaze with a surge of the pandemic.”

New restrictions on in-person dining and gatherings take effect Friday in Baltimore City.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has also proposed similar restrictions that need to be approved by his County Council before taking effect.