Southwest Virginia Leads State In New Daily Coronavirus Cases

VIRGINIA — The Virginia Department of Health reported 845 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, down from the 943 new cases reported Tuesday. Cumulative totals in Virginia stand at 136,359 coronavirus cases, 10,389 hospitalizations and 2,884 deaths

Forty-five new deaths were reported Wednesday, although the VDH said that regarding the death data for Wednesday, there is an existing data backlog. "VDH is working diligently to identify COVID-19 related deaths using vital record death certificate information," the health department said.

As for new cases, the 7-day moving average has been near or above 1,000 in recent days. The 7-day average on Wednesday was 1,010 cases, and the regional 7-day averages were 231 in the southwest, 226 in the northern region, 197 in the central region, 187 in the eastern region, and 163 in the northwest.

During his news conference on Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said the state needs to keep an eye on the southwest region as its positivity rate is 8.1 percent, the highest in the state.

"Since Southwest Virginia has fewer people and fewer hospitals with fewer ICU beds and capabilities, this continues to be concerning to us," the governor said.

There have been 1,799,851 PCR tests completed in Virginia as of Wednesday, up 14,298 from Tuesday. The 7-day average positive rate of tests is 6.9 percent statewide as of Sept. 12, down from 7.5 percent a few days earlier on Sept. 9.

COVID-19 hospitalizations stand at 1,027 statewide as of Wednesday. The 7-day average for hospitalization in the state is 1,038. According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, there were 103 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 212 in the intensive care units as of Wednesday.

Ventilator use among all Virginia hospital patients is at 19 percent, and ICU occupancy is at 79 percent. Two hospitals are reporting difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment in the next 72 hours.

Here are the latest coronavirus data updates for our coverage area between Tuesday and Wednesday:

• Alexandria: 3,628 cases, 305 hospitalizations, 66 deaths; increase of 13cases and one death
• Arlington County: 3,779 cases, 488 hospitalizations, 146 deaths; increase of 20 cases, one hospitalization and one death.
• Fairfax County: 19,837 cases, 2,119 hospitalizations, 572 deaths; increase of 105 cases, eight hospitalizations and three deaths
• Fairfax City: 132 cases, 13 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of one case
• Falls Church: 66 cases, 10 hospitalizations, six deaths; reduction of one case, one hospitalization and one death
• Loudoun County: 6,523 cases, 417 hospitalizations, 119 deaths; increase of 34 cases and three hospitalizations
• Manassas: 1,869 cases, 127 hospitalizations, 24 deaths; no changes
• Manassas Park: 598 cases, 55 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of one case
• Prince William County: 11,810 cases, 891 hospitalizations, 196 deaths; increase of 45 cases, two hospitalizations and three deaths
• Fredericksburg: 518 cases, 49 hospitalizations, five deaths; no changes
• Spotsylvania County: 2,041 cases, 130 hospitalizations, 43 deaths; increase of 12 cases and two deaths
• Stafford County: 1,880 cases, 148 hospitalizations, 13 deaths; increase of eight cases and one hospitalization. One death removed.

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