COVID-19 Conditions Elevate Arlington Into 'Medium' Level: CDC

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County has climbed into the “medium” COVID-19 community level, the only jurisdiction in Northern Virginia currently at this higher risk level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Other cities and counties in Northern Virginia, including the Cities of Falls Church and Alexandria and Fairfax County, are still at the “low” COVID-19 community level.

The increase in the COVID-19 infection rate in Arlington comes as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant, known as BA.2, has become the dominant version among all new U.S. cases. As of Sunday, the United States was averaging more than 31,000 cases a day, an increase of 3 percent over the past two weeks.

The latest weekly rate of 206 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in population lifted Arlington above the 200 mark, which is one of the delineations between "low" and "medium" on the CDC's COVID-19 community level scale.

On Feb. 25, the CDC issued new guidance — low, medium and high infection levels — for how it monitors COVID-19’s impact on communities. Across the nation, 19 communities are currently in the high category, while Arlington is one of only 123 communities in the medium category. Nearly 3,100 communities in the U.S. remain in the low category.

The 7-day moving average of cases in Arlington reached 90.4 cases per day on April 12, up from a 2022 low of 24.4 cases per day on March 6.

Statewide, the 7-day percent positivity rate now stands at 6.6 percent, up from a 2022 low of 3.2 percent on March 25, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

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