First Death Of Teenager From Coronavirus Reported In Virginia

VIRGINIA — A teenager in southside Virginia has become the youngest person in the state to die from the coronavirus, according to state health officials.

The death is the first reported COVID-19 death of a child in the state, the Virginia Department of Health said Friday. The department said it is not disclosing any further information about the teenager to protect the person's privacy and out of respect for the patient’s family.

“We were extremely saddened to learn of the loss of the state’s first adolescent with COVID-19," State Health Commissioner Norman Oliver said in a statement.

“No age group is immune from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this unfortunate event, along with the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases we are seeing in some areas of the commonwealth, is a reminder that we all need to do our part to help slow the spread of virus in the community,” Oliver said.

The Southside Health District, where the death occurred, serves Halifax, Brunswick and Mecklenburg counties. Until now, nobody younger than 30 had been among the nearly 3,000 COVID-19 deaths reported in Virginia.

The teenager's death was reflected on the VDH's data dashboard update on Saturday.

On Saturday, the VDH reported 953 new coronavirus cases, down from the 1,242 new cases reported Friday, and 41 new deaths, including the teenager. Cumulative case totals are at 139,655 cases, 2,990 deaths and 10,562 hospitalizations.

Statewide, there have been 1,866,666 PCR tests completed, up 35,043 from Friday. The 7-day moving average of positive PCR tests fell below 7 percent as of Sept. 12. The latest rate was 6.2 percent on Sept. 15.

The 953 new cases on Saturday included 252 in the southwest region, 225 in the northern region, 175 in the central region, 152 in the northwest region, and 149 in the eastern region. Statewide, the 7-day average of new cases is 959 as of Saturday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations stand at 960 statewide as of Saturday. The 7-day average for hospitalization in the state is 994. According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, there were 108 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 219 in the intensive care units as of Friday.

The 960 hospitalizations include 265 in the central region, 245 in the eastern region, 203 in the northern region, 156 in the southwest region and 91 in the northwest region.

Ventilator use among all Virginia hospital patients is at 19 percent, while ICU occupancy is at 78 percent. The average ICU occupancy was 67 percent in 2019. No hospitals are reporting difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment in the next 72 hours, down from one hospital on Friday.

Since the crisis began in Virginia, 71,721 women have tested positive for the coronavirus and 1,446 women have died, while 67,011 men have had the disease and 1,533 men have died. Of the state total, 923 cases do not have a reported sex and 11 deaths do not have a reported sex, according to the VDH.

Here are the latest coronavirus data updates for our coverage area between Friday and Saturday:

• Alexandria: 3,684 cases, 310 hospitalizations, 68 deaths; increase of 13 cases, two hospitalizations and one death
• Arlington County: 3,835 cases, 491 hospitalizations, 146 deaths; increase of 16 cases
• Fairfax County: 20,155 cases, 2,125 hospitalizations, 579 deaths; increase of 114 cases, four hospitalizations and five deaths
• Fairfax City: 134 cases, 13 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of one case
• Falls Church: 68 cases, 12 hospitalizations, six deaths; no changes
• Loudoun County: 6,633 cases, 426 hospitalizations, 123 deaths; increase of 18 cases, one hospitalization, and one death
• Manassas: 1,877 cases, 128 hospitalizations, 25 deaths; no changes
• Manassas Park: 605 cases, 54 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of two cases
• Prince William County: 12,027 cases, 896 hospitalizations, 199 deaths; increase of 61 cases, one hospitalization and three deaths
• Fredericksburg: 525 cases, 49 hospitalizations, five deaths; increase of one case
• Spotsylvania County: 2,076 cases, 131 hospitalizations, 43 deaths; increase of nine cases and one death
• Stafford County: 1,934 cases, 153 hospitalizations, 14 deaths; increase of 19 cases and two hospitalization

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