Virginia Coronavirus Patients In Intensive Care On The Decline

VIRGINIA — The Virginia Department of Health reported 470 additional cases of the coronavirus and six new deaths Thursday. The latest cumulative totals for Virginia are 52,647 cases, 5,360 hospitalizations and 1,520 deaths. The six new deaths are one of the smallest daily increases over the past two months, according to VDH data.

As of Thursday, 405,025 tests (excluding antibody tests) have been completed in Virginia. The seven-day average for percent of positive test results was at 8.9 percent as of Sunday. The VDH has not updated that figure in the last four days. That's down from a peak of 22.2 percent on April 19.

The VDH noted Wednesday that four outbreaks in independent living communities were previously classified as long-term care facility outbreaks. The health department has reclassified these cases as "congregate living" outbreaks. This is more accurate given the nature of the residential, non-assisted communities in which they occurred, the health department said.

As a result, outbreaks in long-term care facilities decreased by four, and outbreaks in congregate settings increased by four.

There were 164 new coronavirus cases in the Northern Virginia region Thursday. That includes 66 in the Fairfax Health District, 49 in Loudoun County, 20 in the Prince William Health District, 19 in Arlington County and nine in Manassas.

Coronavirus hospitalizations have recently reached the lowest level since VDH made the data available in mid-April. On Thursday, there were 1,069 hospitalized patients with confirmed or pending coronavirus test results, a significant drop from 1,155 reported Wednesday, according to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. There have been 6,895 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals, up from 6,826 on Wednesday.

The number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators also keeps reaching new lows since mid-April. As of Thursday, 138 COVID-19 patients with confirmed or pending test results were on ventilators. Overall, 587 of 2,952 available ventilators are being used by Virginia hospital patients. This represents 20-percent use of ventilators.

The number of COVID-19 patients in the intensive care units was below 300 for the second straight day. There were 273 in the ICU as of Thursday, compared to 422 on April 14.

No hospitals were reporting difficulty on Thursday in obtaining or replenishing personal protective equipment in the next 72 hours. On Wednesday, two hospitals were reporting difficulty, which was the first time since May 2 that hospitals reported troubles with securing PPE.

Most of Virginia has been in phase two of reopening since June 5. The remaining areas, Northern Virginia and Richmond, will move to phase two reopening on Friday, June 12.

Here are the latest cumulative case updates for our coverage areas as of Thursday:

• Alexandria: 2,127 cases, 218 hospitalizations, 48 deaths; two new cases, two new hospitalizations and one new death.
• Arlington County: 2,299 cases, 396 hospitalizations, 124 deaths; 19 new cases, two new hospitalizations and three new deaths.
• Fairfax County: 12,812 cases, 1,460 hospitalizations, 418 deaths; 66 new cases, nine new hospitalizations and four fewer deaths reported.
• Fairfax City: 68 cases, seven hospitalizations, six deaths; one fewer case.
• Falls Church: 56 cases, 11 hospitalizations, eight deaths; no changes.
• Loudoun County: 3,229 cases, 201 hospitalizations, 69 deaths; 49 new cases, five new hospitalizations and two new deaths.
• Manassas: 1,271cases, 79 hospitalizations, 12 deaths; nine new cases.
• Manassas Park: 361 cases, 40 hospitalizations, six deaths; one new case.
• Prince William County: 6,396 cases, 576 hospitalizations, 118 deaths; 20 new cases and 12 new hospitalizations.
• Fredericksburg: 197 cases, 24 hospitalizations, no deaths; three new cases and one hospitalization.
• Spotsylvania County: 729 cases, 51 hospitalizations, 11 deaths; six new cases and one new death.
• Stafford County: 841 cases, 84 hospitalizations, five deaths; 10 new cases.

SEE ALSO:

• New Daily Coronavirus Cases Lowest Since Mid-April In Virginia
• Northam Announces School Reopening Plan, Phase 2 For NoVA
• Ventilator Use For Virginia Coronavirus Patients Steadily Falling