ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Maryland health officials reported another 2,638 COVID-19 cases and 17 new deaths Sunday as the number of hospitalizations continues to decrease, data from the state's health department showed.

LATEST: Hospitalizations At Record-High Again, Positivity Rate Up

As of Sunday, there have been 234,647 total coronavirus cases and 4,954 deaths reported in Maryland.

The number of hospitalizations dropped by 40 to 1,679. Of those, 1,255 are in acute care and 424 are in intensive care.

The state's calculation of the positivity rate decreased slightly to 7.41% on Sunday, down from 7.42% on Saturday.

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Since the pandemic began, the state has conducted 5,021,377 COVID-19 tests, from which 2,331,001 people have tested negative.

Hospitals across the country are getting ready for the arrival of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine as it begins to ship out.

University of Maryland Medical System hospitals have freezers now to store that vaccine, which will go to the health care workers.

Those freezers are required to be kept 70 to 80 degrees below zero. It will go to those at highest risk of getting the virus but even after they get vaccinated, experts like former Baltimore City health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said they let their guard down.

"They should still be wearing masks, they should still be physics distancing because we don't know that it's preventing them from spreading the virus to other people," Dr. Wen said.

Maryland has seen a surge in cases in recent months. Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted Sunday that the state surpassed a milestone of five million COVID-19 tests completed and also noted hospitalizations dropped by 40.

Dr. Wen said even as the vaccine arrives, everyone still has to take precautions to avoid spreading the virus.

"The last thing I would want at this point is for people to be letting down their guard thinking that a vaccine is here. A vaccine is here but it's only going to be reaching a few million people immediately," she said.

Here's a breakdown of cases and deaths by county, race and age/gender (probable deaths are listed with an asterisk):

Here's a breakdown of cases and deaths by age and gender (probable deaths are listed with an asterisk):

Here's a breakdown of cases and deaths by race and ethnicity (probable deaths are listed with an asterisk):

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.