More Detailed Race, Ethnicity Coronavirus Data Added In Virginia

VIRGINIA — On Tuesday, 445 additional coronavirus cases, 55 hospitalizations and 18 deaths were reported by the Virginia Department of Health. The latest cumulative totals are 55,331 cases, 5,643 hospitalizations and 1,570 deaths.

The health department started to include more detailed race and ethnicity data for reported coronavirus cases, according to a news release. Before Monday, race was identified as white, black or African American, or other. Ethnicity data was identified as Hispanic or Latino or Not Hispanic or Latino.

"This updated format allows us to get a clearer picture of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting minority communities in Virginia," said Dr. Norman Oliver, Virginia's state health commissioner. "We see, for instance, that COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting Virginia’s Latinx population. Although Latinx people make up 10 percent of the state’s population, they account for 45 percent of the COVID-19 cases, 35 percent of the hospitalizations and 11 percent of the deaths. Factors such as access to health care, poverty, geography, occupation and racism drive these disparities."

The new categories for race and ethnicity are:

• Asian or Pacific Islander: Non-Hispanics who identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• Black: Non-Hispanics who identify as black or African American
• Latino: Individuals of any race who identify as Hispanic or Latino
• Native American: Non-Hispanics who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native
• White: Non-Hispanics who identify as white
• Other Race: Non-Hispanics who select Other Race
• Two or More Races: Non-Hispanics who identify as more than one of the above race categories

As of Tuesday, 18,772 coronavirus cases are among Latino individuals, 11,389 are among white individuals, 7,763 are among black individuals, 1,880 are among Asian of Pacific Islander individuals, 142 are among multiracial individuals and 65 are among Native Americans. There are 1,470 cases identified as "other."

Racial or ethnic data is not available for 13,850, or 25 percent of Virginia's cases.

"One of our biggest challenges is the large amount of missing data on race and ethnicity in the disease reports we receive," said Oliver. "We continue to encourage individuals, health providers and laboratories to report race and ethnicity data."

Health officials believe the data will better measure infection rates and show the pandemic's overall impact in Virginia. The commonwealth's Office of Health Equity will look at data to identify health inequities and develop tracking and reporting guidelines for future health crises.

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Across Virginia, the number of new daily cases has been on a downward trend in June. Monday's 380 new cases marked the lowest daily increase since April 15, when there were 329 new cases. The highest numbers of new cases were 1,615 on May 26, 1,483 on May 25, and 1,284 on June 7.

The latest 7-day moving average of positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR or nasal swab) tests was 7.4 percent on June 12. The statewide peak had been over 20 percent on April 20. There have been 483,024 PCR tests completed in Virginia. When including antibody and PCR tests, that total is 536,989 tests.

As of Tuesday, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association reported 904 hospitalized patients with confirmed or pending COVID-19 results. There have been 7,341 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals, up from 7,230 Monday.

Ventilator and intensive care unit use among COVID-19 patients continues to fall. As of Monday, there were 125 pending or confirmed COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 241 in the ICU. Among all Virginia hospital patients, 598 of 2,979 available ventilators are being used, representing 20 percent use. No hospitals report difficulty obtaining or restocking personal protective gear or other medical supplies within the next 72 hours.

Just 93 of the 445 new cases reported Tuesday in Virginia come from the Northern Virginia region. That includes 35 in Loudoun County, 20 in the Prince William Health District, 17 in Arlington County, 13 in the Fairfax Health District and eight in Alexandria.

Here are the latest cumulative case updates for our coverage areas from Monday to Tuesday:

• Alexandria: 2,168 cases, 224 hospitalizations, 47 deaths; increase of eight cases, one hospitalization and one death removed
• Arlington County: 2,363 cases, 407 hospitalizations, 125 deaths; increase of 17 cases and two hospitalizations
• Fairfax County: 13,103 cases, 1,509 hospitalizations, 428 deaths; increase of 11 cases, nine hospitalizations and five deaths
• Fairfax City: 67 cases, seven hospitalizations, six deaths; no change
• Falls Church: 58 cases, 11 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of two cases
• Loudoun County: 3,439 cases, 206 hospitalizations, 76 deaths; increase of 35 cases, two hospitalizations and five deaths
• Manassas: 1,317 cases, 87 hospitalizations, 14 deaths; increase of three cases, one hospitalization and one death
• Manassas Park: 388 cases, 45 hospitalizations, six deaths; increase of four cases
• Prince William County: 6,621 cases, 621 hospitalizations,127 deaths; increase of 13 cases, eight hospitalizations and five deaths
• Fredericksburg: 213 cases, 24 hospitalizations, no deaths; increase of two cases
• Spotsylvania County: 849 cases, 56 hospitalizations, 17 deaths; increase of 12 cases, one hospitalization and one death
• Stafford County: 900 cases, 89 hospitalizations, five deaths; increase of seven cases