DC Coronavirus Update: Younger May Not Necessarily Mean Better

WASHINGTON, DC — When it comes to looking for trends in coronavirus data, Dr. LaQuandra S. Nesbitt, director of the D.C. Department of Health, said that in some jurisdictions across the country incidents of the illness are occurring increasingly in younger age groups, where the mortality rate may be lower.

"It doesn't necessarily mean that severe illness or death doesn't occur in younger populations, but the rate of death in that population may be lower, which could result in lower deaths overall," Nesbitt said, during a Wednesday morning press briefing. "What may be happening is that as younger populations are tending to be more impacted, their severity of illness may be less and deaths would be less likely in that age group."

While more cases in an age group with a lower mortality rate may seem like a good thing, Nesbitt said that in some communities where intergenerational households exist, a younger person with COVID-19, he illness associated with the new coronavirus, may still transmit the disease to other age groups with higher mortality rates.

"If young people are infected at higher rates and they work in essential services positions, they are going to come into contact with individuals who are elderly and they could introduce infection into the settings where older individuals live and a wide spread could quickly occur," Nesbitt said. "It is not a benign issue for young people to be the primary spreaders or primary modes of transmission in communities. We still need to be hyper focused on that and interrupting those chains of infection."

D.C. Health confirmed 45 additional positive cases of COVID-19, the virus associated with the new coronavirus on Wednesday. That's down from the 85 new cases reported on Tuesday. This brings the District's total number of positive cases to 12,443.

D.C. Health reported no additional deaths due to COVID-19 on Wednesday. The total number of deaths in the District due to COVID-19 stands at 587.

According to D.C. Health, 202,825 coronavirus tests have been administered in the District, 137,426. D.C. residents have been tested, and 10,015 have been cleared from isolation.

The District currently has 99 intensive care unit beds available out of 345 total intensive care unit beds. There are currently 170 in-use ventilators and 21 COVID-19-positive ICU patients.

Due to Tropical Storm Isaias, all of the COVID-19 testing sites in the District, including fire stations, were closed on Tuesday. Those sites reopened Wednesday on a two-hour delay.

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D.C. Health recently lowered the positivity rate metric to a seven-day rolling average of 5 percent. The positivity rate as of Wednesday among District residents is 3.3 percent. This is one of the metrics health officials monitor to determine if the city is ready to move into the next phase of its phased reopening.

Globally, more than 18.5 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 701,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday morning. In the United States, more than 4.7 million people have been infected and over 156,000 people have died from COVID-19.

COVID-19 Cases By Age And Gender

Total of Positive COVID-19 Cases By Ward

Total COVID-19 Deaths By Ward

Total of Positive COVID-19 Cases By Race

Total of Positive COVID-19 Deaths By Race

District residents should take the following actions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

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