Coronavirus Hospitalizations At New High In VA As 2020 End Nears

VIRGINIA — As the end of 2020 nears, increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations continue in Virginia. As of Tuesday, there were 2,698 current patients statewide, a new high that includes 539 patients in the intensive care units. There are 326 COVID-19 patients on ventilators statewide.

Among all hospital patients, 13,136 beds are occupied of 16,476 staffed beds at Virginia hospitals, according to the Virginia Department of Health. For Northern Virginia, there are 2,788 beds occupied, including 607 by COVID-19 patients. The region has 3,287 staffed beds.

According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, 969 of 3,001 available ventilators are in use among all hospital patients in Virginia, representing 32 percent capacity. ICU occupancy stands at 81 percent, compared to the 2019 average of 67 percent. No hospitals have reported difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment within 72 hours since Sept. 18.

Daily COVID-19 cases have been higher than previous months on most days. There were 4,122 new cases reported on Tuesday, and the seven-day average is 3,688. That's down from a peak average of 4,086 on Dec. 25.

Northern Virginia accounted for 887 new cases on Tuesday and has a seven-day average of 962. Other cases by region include 1,018 in the eastern region, 803 in the southwest region, 801 in the northwest region, 613 in the central region. There were 59 new deaths reported on Tuesday in Virginia, and the seven-day average of daily death reports is 31.

On the testing side, the seven-day average of positive PCR tests is 12.2 percent as of Dec. 25, while the average of total testing encounters being reported daily is 27,265. Northern Virginia has a positive average of 10.9 percent and average of 8,362 testing encounters reported daily.

Vaccinations are underway with both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines being distributed in Virginia. Health care workers and long-term care facilities and staff are the priority groups for the first phase of vaccinations. As of Tuesday, 47,052 vaccine doses have been administered in Virginia. No one has received the second dose, as Pfizer's doses should be taken 21 days apart and Moderna's doses should be 28 days apart. The first health care workers began to get vaccines on Dec. 15; long-term care facility vaccinations begin during the week of Dec. 28.

Below are the latest coronavirus data updates for our coverage area from Monday to Tuesday:

• Alexandria: 7,163 cases, 430 hospitalizations, 87 deaths; increase of 56 cases, four hospitalizations and one death
• Arlington County: 8,631 cases, 647 hospitalizations, 177 deaths; increase of 63 cases
• Fairfax County: 43,107 cases, 2,900 hospitalizations, 675 deaths; increase of 321 cases, 21 hospitalizations and four deaths
• Fairfax City: 298 cases, 25 hospitalizations, 10 deaths; increase of three cases
• Falls Church: 173 cases, 17 hospitalizations, six deaths; increase of three cases and one hospitalization
• Loudoun County: 13,848 cases, 639 hospitalizations, 156 deaths; increase of 165 cases, eight hospitalizations and two deaths
• Manassas: 2,850 cases, 147 hospitalizations, 30 deaths; increase of 16 cases
• Manassas Park: 920 cases, 62 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of five cases
• Prince William County: 25,057 cases, 1,214 hospitalizations, 251 deaths; increase of 262 cases, eight hospitalizations and two deaths
• Fredericksburg: 1,006 cases, 65 hospitalizations, nine deaths; increase of 18 cases, two hospitalizations and one death
• Spotsylvania County: 4,607 cases, 210 hospitalizations, 67 deaths; increase of 97 cases and two hospitalizations
• Stafford County: 5,036 cases, 224 hospitalizations, 24 deaths; increase of 106 cases, two hospitalizations and one death