Manassas Highest Positive Rate In NoVA; Test Counting Criticized

VIRGINIA — The Virginia Department of Health reported 1,067 additional cases of the new coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 illness, on Thursday. Virginia's cumulative totals on Thursday were 27,813 cases, 955 deaths and 3,592 hospitalizations.

On Thursday, 692 of the state's 1,067 new cases were in Northern Virginia, representing about 65 percent. The region accounts for the following nine jurisdictions: Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Falls Church, Loudoun County, Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County. Virginia has 133 localities (95 counties and 38 independent cities).

The City of Manassas far exceeds any other jurisdiction in Northern Virginia in the rate of positive coronavirus cases. On Thursday, Manassas reported the same number of new positive cases as Loudoun County, a jurisdiction that has more than 10 times the population of Manassas.

As of Thursday, Manassas reported 1,237 positive cases of the coronavirus per 100,000 population, according to VDH data. Next in Northern Virginia was Manassas Park, which reported 982 positive cases per 100,000. Alexandria reported 840 cases per 100,000 population as of Thursday.

The other small jurisdictions in Northern Virginia — Falls Church and Fairfax City — have low rates. As of Thursday, Falls Church reported 264 positive cases per 100,000 population and Fairfax City had 183 cases per 100,000 population, the lowest of any jurisdiction in Northern Virginia.

Among counties in Northern Virginia, Prince William County has the highest rate at 716 positive cases of the coronavirus per 100,000 population followed by Arlington County at 631 cases per 100,000 population.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam confirmed Wednesday the first reopening phase will start for much of the state on Friday. Northern Virginia will remain in what he calls "phase zero" with a two-week delay before some coronavirus-related restrictions will be eased.

"Phase one represents a small step forward, but we will remain vigilant," said Northam at a Wednesday news conference. "We will continue to monitor health data closely. I again want to remind all Virginians this virus has not gone away, and everyone needs to act accordingly."

On Thursday, the Virginia Department of Health reported 185,551 tests have been completed, up from 180,084 on Wednesday. Prior to Thursday, the health department had been including antibody tests in the total number. By counting those tests, Virginia boosted the overall number of tests and possibly lowered the percentage of positive results.

In a tweet Thursday, Northam said when he "found out recently" that data from all types of tests were being combined, he immediately directed that the diagnostic tests be separated out. On Thursday, the VDH released testing data broken out by diagnostic and antibody tests.

Antibody tests make up less than 9 percent of overall tests, according to the VDH. When these tests are removed from total results, there is minimal change in the percent positive of tests and no difference in overall trends, the health department said.

Virginia had received criticism for how it was counting coronavirus tests. The Atlantic magazine reported Wednesday that Virginia's "decision to mix the results of two different kinds of tests marks a new low in data standards."

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The Atlantic is referring to the state's decision to report viral tests and antibody tests in the same figure, even though the two types of test answer different questions about the coronavirus crisis and reveal different types of information.

By combining these two types of test, the state was able to portray itself as having a more robust system for tracking and fighting the coronavirus than it actually does, according to the magazine. It could represent gains in testing that do not exist in reality, Ashish Jha, the K.T. Li Professor of Global Health at Harvard, told The Atlantic.

“It is terrible. It messes up everything,” Jha told The Atlantic. Combining the test results produces information that is impossible to interpret, Jha said.

The VDH said Thursday it will now provide a breakdown of the COVID-19 test data by all test types.

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association continues to report active hospitalizations and resource use, but regional data is not available. As of Thursday, 1,533 people with pending or confirmed coronavirus test results were currently hospitalized, up from 1,526 on Wednesday. A total of 3,678 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals, up from 3,554 as of Wednesday.

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On Thursday, 201 COVID-19 patients were using ventilators, down one from Wednesday. Among all hospital patients in Virginia, there are 652 ventilators in use of the 2,942 available ventilators in hospitals, representing 22-percent use in Virginia, the same usage as on Wednesday.

Across Virginia, 283 outbreaks of the coronavirus have been reported, with 164 of them occurring at long-term care facilities where there have been 3,832 cases and 558 reported deaths.

The Virginia Department of Health is ramping up hiring of positions related to testing and contact tracing, part of the governor's reopening criteria. The health department website advertises 1,000 contact tracer positions, 200 case investigator positions, 70 data manager positions, 10 testing coordinator positions, 10 contact tracing supervisor positions, and five COVID-19 analytics coordinator positions.

Here are the latest case updates for our coverage areas, reported Thursday by the VDH and compared to numbers reported Wednesday:

• Alexandria: 1,349 cases, 152 hospitalizations, 32 deaths; increase of 33 cases, four hospitalizations and one death
• Arlington County: 1,499 cases, 305 hospitalizations, 70 deaths; increase of 39 cases, five hospitalizations and one death0
• Fairfax County: 6,951 cases, 1,019 hospitalizations, 267 deaths; increase of 285 cases, 20 hospitalizations and five deaths
• Fairfax City: 45 cases, six hospitalizations, three deaths; increase of two cases
• Falls Church: 39 cases, nine hospitalizations, four deaths; no increases any categories
• Loudoun County: 1,339 cases, 131 hospitalizations, 44 deaths; increase of 56 cases, two hospitalizations and six deaths
• Manassas: 515 cases, 47 hospitalizations, five deaths; increase of 56 cases, three hospitalizations and one death
• Manassas Park: 170 cases, 18 hospitalizations, three deaths; increase of 18 cases and two hospitalizations.
• Prince William County: 3,351 cases, 320 hospitalizations, 66 deaths; increase of 170 cases, four hospitalizations and one death
• Fredericksburg: 80 cases, 14 hospitalizations, no deaths; increase of eight cases
• Spotsylvania County: 282 cases, 30 hospitalizations, four deaths; increase of 12 cases
• Stafford County: 426 cases, 61 hospitalizations, four deaths; increase of 13 cases and one hospitalization

RELATED:

• Coronavirus: NoVA Accounts For 55.8 Percent Of New Cases
• Virginia Reopening Starts Friday, NoVA Leaders Speak On Delay
• Northam Executive Order Allows NoVA To Delay Phase 1 Reopening