Virginia Coronavirus Hospitalizations Lower Than Recent Weeks

VIRGINIA — With much of Virginia prepared to move into phase two or reopening on Friday, 951 additional cases of the coronavirus and 17 new deaths were reported Thursday. The latest cumulative totals are 47,856 cases of the coronavirus, 1,445 deaths and 4,957 hospitalizations, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The number of current hospitalizations is lower than any day since April 14, the first day VDH has data for. According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, 1,266 people with current or pending coronavirus test results are hospitalized, down from 1,311 on Wednesday. The next lowest day for current hospitalizations was April 14 with 1,282 patients.

A total of 6,284 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals, up from 6,065 on Wednesday.

Ventilator use is also the lowest since April 14. There are 171 pending or confirmed COVID-19 patients on ventilators, down from 185 on Wednesday. Total ventilator use among all hospital patients is 557 of 2,953 on hand, representing 19-percent use in Virginia. No hospitals are experiencing difficulty obtaining or restocking protective gear or other medical supplies in the next 72 hours.

There is no data on current Northern Virginia hospitalizations from VDH. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission's data dashboard shows new daily hospitalizations have fluctuated.

The positive rate of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests continues to fall. The 7-day rate for Virginia is 10.6 percent as of June 1, down from 13.6 percent on May 25. The 7-day percent positive rate for PCR tests in Northern Virginia was 14.5 percent on June 1, compared to 19.1 percent on June 25. The peak positive rate in Virginia was 22.2 percent on April 19; for Northern Virginia, it was 35.9 percent on April 26.

Of the new cases reported on Thursday, 492 are in Northern Virginia. This includes 219 new cases in Fairfax County, 135 in Loudoun County, 95 in Prince William County, 15 in Alexandria, 12 in Manassas, eight in Arlington County, seven in Manassas Park and one in Falls Church. Those new cases lifted the region to a total of 26,350, or 55 percent of the state total.

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

• Alexandria: 2,031 cases, 202 hospitalizations, 46 deaths; increase of 15 cases and five hospitalizations
• Arlington County: 2,150 cases, 384 hospitalizations, 120 deaths; increase of eight cases and five hospitalizations
• Fairfax County: 11,815 cases, 1,386 hospitalizations, 403 deaths; increase of 219 cases, nine hospitalizations and seven deaths
• Fairfax City: 67 cases, eight hospitalizations, six deaths; no changes
• Falls Church: 56 cases, 11 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of one case
• Loudoun County: 2,794 cases, 173 hospitalizations, 67 deaths; increase of 135 cases and two hospitalizations
• Manassas: 1,166 cases, 77 hospitalizations, 12 deaths; increase of 12 cases and three hospitalizations
• Manassas Park: 339 cases, 34 hospitalizations, six deaths; increase of seven cases and one hospitalization
• Prince William County: 5,932 cases, 512 hospitalizations, 110 deaths; increase of 95 cases, 11 hospitalizations and one death
• Fredericksburg: 178 cases, 24 hospitalizations, one death; increase of six cases, two hospitalizations and one death
• Spotsylvania County: 593 cases, 44 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of three cases and two hospitalizations
• Stafford County: 742 cases, 76 hospitalizations, five deaths; increase of four cases

Gov. Ralph Northam expects to let Virginia move into phase two of reopening on June 5, three weeks after phase one started. The only areas not moving into phase two are Northern Virginia and Richmond, which started phase one on May 28. Accomack County had also been delayed for phase one, but Northam believes it is prepared after testing helped address outbreaks in poultry processing plants. Phase two will include additional easing of restrictions and the limit on gatherings changing to 50 people.

SEE ALSO:

• Virginia Phase 2 Reopening Planned; Delay For NoVA, Richmond
• Positive Coronavirus Test Rate Dropping Steadily In Virginia