Virginia's Positive Coronavirus Case Count Approaches 100,000

VIRGINIA — A day after health officials caught up on a backlog of positive coronavirus cases, the Virginia Department of Health reported 1,307 new cases of the coronavirus and five new deaths on Saturday.

On Friday, VDH reported an additional 2,015 coronavirus cases, which the department attributed to a backlog of cases. The number reflected cases that should have been reported on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as Friday's cases.

VDH cited a technical issue involving a system performance configuration. The department said its office of information management identified and fixed the technical issue late Thursday.

Before the backlog had been reported, the 7-day average of new cases dropped below 1,000 for the first time since July 24. The latest cumulative totals in Virginia are 99,189 cases, 8,332 hospitalizations, and 2,322 deaths.

On Saturday, new cases by health region included 418 in the eastern region (417 7-day average of new cases), 278 in the northern region (206 7-day average of new cases), 244 in the central region (206 7-day average of new cases), 201 in the southwest region (201.3 7-day average of new cases), and 166 in the northwest region (125 7-day average of new cases).

The statewide positive rate of tests climbed from 7.3 percent Friday to 7.5 percent Saturday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped from 1,372 to 1,258 on Saturday. The breakdown of hospitalizations by region is 511 in the eastern region, 250 in the northern region, 205 in the central region, 194 in the southwest region, and 98 in the northwest region. Across Virginia, 12,843 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals.

The hospitalizations include 149 patients on ventilators and 274 in the intensive care units as of Saturday, according to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. Ventilator use is at 20 percent among all hospital patients, and ICU occupancy is at 83 percent. The average ICU occupancy in Virginia for 2019 was 67 percent. No hospitals are reporting difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment or other medical supplies.

Earlier this week, Gov. Ralph Northam and the Virginia Department of Health announced the new COVIDWISE app for possible coronavirus exposure notifications. Virginia became the first state to offer an app using Bluetooth Low Energy to notify people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.

Here are the latest case updates for our coverage areas between Friday and Saturday:

• Alexandria: 2,949 cases, 278 hospitalizations, 60 deaths; increase of 32 cases and three hospitalizations.
• Arlington County: 3,062 cases, 437 hospitalizations, 135 deaths; increase of 25 cases and one hospitalization.
• Fairfax County: 16,302 cases, 1,933 hospitalizations, 529 deaths; increase of 61 cases and six hospitalizations and decrease of one death.
• Fairfax City: 85 cases, 11 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of one case.
• Falls Church: 60 cases, nine hospitalizations, six deaths; no change.
• Loudoun County: 5,254 cases, 349 hospitalizations, 115 deaths; increase of 58 cases and three hospitalizations.
• Manassas: 1,643 cases, 122 hospitalizations, 22 deaths; increase of seven cases, one hospitalization and one death.
• Manassas Park: 513 cases, 50 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of six cases.
• Prince William County: 9,428 cases, 799 hospitalizations, 176 deaths; increase of 88 cases but decrease of two hospitalizations and one death.
• Fredericksburg: 400 cases, 46 hospitalizations, three deaths; increase of four cases and two hospitalizations.
• Spotsylvania County: 1,471 cases, 95 hospitalizations, 35 deaths; increase of 22 cases.
• Stafford County: 1,366 cases, 119 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of 16 cases and decrease of one hospitalization.

SEE ALSO:

• Backlog Accounts For 2,015 New Coronavirus Cases In Virginia
• Coronavirus Exposure Notification App Launches In Virginia