Virginia Reports 5th Highest Percent Positivity Rate In Nation

VIRGINIA — Ten Virginia metro areas and 80 counties remain in the COVID-19 pandemic's "red zone," according to the latest report issued by the White House COVID-19 Team on Wednesday. The number of counties in the red zone was down by two from the previous report, while the number of metro areas in the red zone remained the same.

Among the counties in the red zone are Prince William, Loudoun, Stafford and Spotsylvania. Red zones are metro areas and counties that during the previous week reported new cases at or above 101 per 100,000 population and a lab test positivity result at or above 10.1 percent.

Based on improved data, the city of Alexandria moved from the "orange zone" into the "yellow zone" where it joined Arlington County. Metro area and counties that reported new cases between 51 and 100 per 100,000 population and a lab test positivity result between 8.0 and 10.0 percent, or one of those two conditions and one condition qualifying as being in the red zone, are considered to be in the orange zone.

Metro areas and counties that during the previous week reported both new cases between 10 and 50 per 100,000 population, and a lab test positivity result between 5.0 and 7.9 percent, or one of those two conditions and one condition qualifying as being in the orange zone or red zone, are considered to be in the yellow zone.

Virginia has the fifth-highest coronavirus percent positivity rate among its residents, according to the report. A week ago, Virginia had the 10th highest percent positivity rate in the nation. Oklahoma, Nevada, New Hampshire, Texas and Nevada are the only states with a higher percent positivity rate.

The new COVID-19 weekly state report was the fourth one released by President Joe Biden's administration since the new president took office. Former President Donald Trump's administration declined to release the weekly COVID-19 reports for each state during the pandemic.

South Africa Variant

The first case of the South Africa variant of the coronavirus has been identified in a resident in Southwest Virginia who recently returned to the state after international travel, according to the Virginia Department of Health. All contacts of the person have been identified and are being managed, the VDH said Thursday.

The variant, which first emerged in South Africa in late 2020, is associated with increased person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. At this time, there is no evidence that infections with this variant cause more severe cases of the disease.

To date, three cases of the South Africa variant have been identified in Virginia. The variant has been identified in nine other states. Twelve cases of the United Kingdom variant, which has been found to be more contagious and more deadly than other variants, have been identified in Virginia.

COVID-19 Data

According to VDH data as of Friday, 1,513,373 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Virginia. There are 1,092,799 people with at least one dose (12.8 percent of the population) and 420,574 with two doses (4.9 percent of the population).

The state is averaging 35,745 doses administered per day. Hospitals lead with 508,340 total doses given, followed by local health departments with 460,917, long-term care facilities with 184,012, community health providers with 148,207, medical practices with 147,772, and pharmacies with 64,125.

An additional 2,034 coronavirus cases were reported on Friday. The seven-day average of daily cases was 2,246, the lowest average since Dec. 3.

Northern Virginia had 435 new cases on Friday and a seven-day average of 499, the lowest average for the region since Nov. 19.

The cumulative case total for Virginia is 559,930. There were eight new deaths reported on Friday, and 7,098 deaths to date have been attributed to COVID-19.

Current hospitalizations stand at 1,668, including 329 in the intensive care units and 204 on ventilators. The current hospitalization number is the lowest since Nov. 30. Northern Virginia currently has 281 patients.

As reported by the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, ICU occupancy among all hospital patients is at 79 percent, and ventilator use is at 32 percent.

Virginia's seven-day average of positive tests stands at 8.1 percent as of Feb. 16, the lowest percent positivity rate since Nov. 26. The average has been trending down since reaching a winter peak of 17.4 percent on Jan. 3. Northern Virginia's average is 7.3 percent, compared to a winter peak of 16.6 percent on Jan. 2.

The average number of daily PCR testing encounters is trending down since peaking at 35,024 on Jan. 14. The latest average is 22,645.

Below are the latest coronavirus data updates for our coverage area from Thursday to Friday:

• Alexandria: 10,113 cases, 502 hospitalizations, 104 deaths; increase of 21 cases and four hospitalizations
• Arlington County: 12,768 cases, 753 hospitalizations, 212 deaths; increase of 42 cases, one hospitalization, and one death
• Fairfax County: 64,750 cases, 3,448 hospitalizations, 834 deaths; increase of 182 cases and seven hospitalizations
• Fairfax City: 476 cases, 35 hospitalizations, 12 deaths; increase of three cases
• Falls Church: 334 cases, 20 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of one case
• Loudoun County: 22,486 cases, 830 hospitalizations, 195 deaths; increase of 81 cases and two hospitalizations
• Manassas: 3,938 cases, 160 hospitalizations, 33 deaths; increase of three cases and one hospitalization
• Manassas Park: 1,112 cases, 66 hospitalizations, eight deaths; no changes
• Prince William County: 38,420 cases, 1,365 hospitalizations, 328 deaths; increase of 102 cases and two hospitalizations
• Fredericksburg: 1,722 cases, 91 hospitalizations, 14 deaths; increase of five cases
• Spotsylvania County: 8,070 cases, 266 hospitalizations, 88 deaths; increase of 27 cases
• Stafford County: 9,312 cases, 300 hospitalizations, 55 deaths; increase of 22 cases and one hospitalization