Coronavirus Deaths Increase By 34 In Virginia; 46 Outbreaks Found

VIRGINIA — The number of deaths resulting from the new coronavirus in Virginia rose to 109 Thursday, up from 75 on Wednesday. Cases of the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19 illness, increased from 3,645 to 4,042, according to the Virginia Department of Health's latest report. Virginia's positive cases include 685 hospitalizations, up from 615 on Wednesday.

The state's highest number of deaths so far have occurred in central Virginia. Many of the region's 41 reported deaths are tied to Henrico County's Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, the location of the state's most severe outbreak at a long-term care facility. According to WVTR, the Canterbury facility has reported 32 deaths, and over 100 others tested positive for COVID-19.

Hospitalization data from the Virginia Department of Health is slightly different from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association's numbers, which reports 669 hospitalized patients who tested positive for the coronavirus. In addition, 627 people are receiving inpatient hospital care and have pending test results. Among positive and pending COVID-19 cases, 469 are in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 285 are on ventilators.

The Virginia Department of Health's new weekly report reveals more specific data on COVID-19 cases, including the number of outbreaks and localities' cases per 100,000 people. As of Wednesday, the Virginia Department of Health has been notified about 46 outbreaks, 20 of which occurred in long-term care facilities. Outbreaks are defined as at least two COVID-19 cases confirmed by laboratory testing. In Northern Virginia, Arlington County has identified five outbreaks, the Fairfax Health District has three, Loudoun County and Alexandria each have two and Prince William County has one.

The Fairfax Health District continues to report the most cases — 690. However, James City County has the highest rate of cases with 164 cases per 100,000 people as of Wednesday. The Fairfax Health District's latest rate is 58.7 per 100,000 people, which excludes a few cases under investigation. The next highest number of cases are 319 in Henrico County, 299 in Prince William County, 280 in Arlington County, 258 in Loudoun County and 219 in Virginia Beach.

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The percentage of visits to emergency departments for coronavirus-like symptoms or mention of COVID-19 has seen increases in March. In the Northern Virginia region, 2.5 percent of visits were for coronavirus-like symptoms during the week of March 7. That increased to 10.3 percent in the week of March 21 and 11.1 percent in the week of March 28. The number slightly fell to 10.8 percent in the week of April 4. Numbers are based on tracking of hospital emergency department and free-standing emergency departments; they do not represent confirmed cases.

While various U.S. localities are reporting higher rates of cases and deaths among African American individuals, Virginia does not have racial data for all confirmed cases. In fact, race is not reported for 51 percent of Virginia's positive cases. On Wednesday, Gov. Ralph Northam directed the Virginia Department of Health to improve racial data. Northam said the state is exploring ways to ensure private laboratories and health care providers report this data.

The state is also not reporting data on recovered patients. The number of people tested for COVID-19 in Virginia is 33,026.

SEE ALSO:

• Northam Seeks Action On VA Elections, Coronavirus Racial Data
• Reported Deaths From Coronavirus In VA Increasing At Faster Rate