Virginia Coronavirus: 859 New Cases, Data On Antibody Tests

VIRGINIA — The Virginia Department of Health reported 859 additional cases of the new coronavirus on Friday, the start of the first reopening phase for most areas of the commonwealth. Another 22 deaths and 65 hospitalizations were reported since Thursday. The latest cumulative totals are 28,672 cases, 977 deaths and 3,592 hospitalizations.

The 1,067 new cases from Wednesday to Thursday represented the highest daily increase of new cases. The next highest number was 1,055 new cases on May 1. Thursday was the second highest day for testing with 7,184 people tested. The highest number was 7,730 people tested on May 6.

Virginia has begun reporting total tests with and without antibody tests after direction from Gov. Ralph Northam Thursday. Virginia had received criticism for how it was counting viral and antibody coronavirus tests together. The Atlantic magazine reported Wednesday that Virginia's "decision to mix the results of two different kinds of tests marks a new low in data standards."

The state health department classifies positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results as confirmed cases. The Virginia Department of Health said antibody testing had increased in the past three weeks but make up less than nine percent of all tests.

"When these tests are removed from total results, there is minimal change in the percent positive of tests and no difference in overall trends," the health department stated in a news release Thursday.

As of Friday, the number of PCR tests performed is 176,681, while the total including PCR and antibody tests is 195,682. There had been 185,551 total tests reported on Thursday.

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The percent of positive tests is trending down for Virginia as a whole, according to the Virginia Department of Health's graph. The seven-day moving average on May 12 was 15.7 percent, compared to 18.7 percent one week ago.

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association continues to report active hospitalizations and resource use for the commonwealth but not individual regions. On Friday, 1,511 people with pending or confirmed coronavirus test results were currently hospitalized, down from 1,533 on Thursday. A total of 3,805 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals, up from 3,678 on Thursday.

On Thursday, 195 COVID-19 patients were using ventilators, down from 201 from Wednesday. Among all hospital patients in Virginia, there are 624 ventilators in use of the 2,953 available ventilators in hospitals, representing 21-percent use in Virginia. No hospitals are experiencing difficulty obtaining or restocking protective gear or other medical supplies in the next 72 hours.

Many areas of the state will start to see personal grooming businesses as well as outdoor dining reopen with restrictions starting Friday. That's part of the Forward Virginia phase one reopening plan, which Northam expects could last two to three weeks. Northam allowed the state as a whole to reopen based on health metrics.

Northam encouraged localities to request a delay if leaders were not comfortable moving into phase one. He approved Northern Virginia leaders' request to delay the phase one reopening, keeping the region in "phase zero" through at least May 28. A similar request from leaders in Richmond and Accomack County was granted Thursday.

On Friday, 421 of the state's 859 new cases were in Northern Virginia, representing about 49 percent. The region accounts for the following nine jurisdictions: Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Falls Church, Loudoun County, Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County. Virginia as a whole has 133 localities with a population around 8.5 million, while Northern Virginia has a population around 2.5 million.

Virginia's top five ZIP codes for cases as of Friday are all in Northern Virginia:

• 22191, Prince William County: 783 of 2,630 tested
• 22193, Prince William County: 702 of 2,512 tested
• 22003, Fairfax County: 643 of 1,862 tested
• 22204, Arlington County: 617 of 1,866 tested
• 20110, Manassas/Prince William County: 609 of 1,588 tested

Here are the latest case updates for our coverage areas, reported Friday by the VDH and compared to numbers reported Thursday:

• Alexandria: 1,396 cases, 159 hospitalizations, 32 deaths; increase of 47 cases and seven hospitalizations
• Arlington County: 1,534 cases, 306 hospitalizations, 71 deaths; increase of 35 cases, one hospitalization and one death
• Fairfax County: 7,159 cases, 1,035 hospitalizations, 273 deaths; increase of 208 cases, 16 hospitalizations and six deaths
• Fairfax City: 46 cases, six hospitalizations, three deaths; increase of one case
• Falls Church: 40 cases, nine hospitalizations, four deaths; increase of one case
• Loudoun County: 1,374 cases, 134 hospitalizations, 48 deaths; increase of 35 cases, three hospitalizations and four deaths
• Manassas: 533 cases, 47 hospitalizations, five deaths; increase of 18 cases
• Manassas Park: 176 cases, 18 hospitalizations, three deaths; increase of six cases
• Prince William County: 3,421 cases, 333 hospitalizations, 67 deaths; increase of 70 cases, 13 hospitalizations and one death
• Fredericksburg: 82 cases, 14 hospitalizations, no deaths; increase of two cases
• Spotsylvania County: 291 cases, 30 hospitalizations, four deaths; increase of nine cases
• Stafford County: 442 cases, 61 hospitalizations, four deaths; increase of 16 cases

SEE ALSO:

• Richmond, Accomack Join NoVA In Delayed Coronavirus Reopening
• Unemployment Claims Near 400K In Virginia; DC Claims Still Rising
• Manassas Highest Positive Rate In NoVA; Test Counting Criticized
• Virginia DMV Centers To Reopen In Phases By Appointment