Virginia's Daily Coronavirus Cases Hit New High In July

VIRGINIA — On Monday, the Virginia Department of Health reported 972 new cases of the coronavirus, a new high for daily cases in July. The statewide cumulative totals stand at 71,642 cases, 6,765 hospitalizations and 1,968 deaths.

After the 7-day moving average of new daily cases stayed in the 500s throughout much of June, a slight uptick in the average started on July 8. New cases totaled 943 on July 10, 851 on July 11 and 888 on July 12. Monday's 972 new cases represented the highest total since June 7, when 1,284 new cases were reported.

While the number of new cases is trending upward, Northern Virginia is not at the forefront as it was in previous months. The region's four counties and five independent cities accounted for just 161 cases of Virginia's 972 new cases reported Monday. That includes one in Alexandria, 11 in Arlington County, 75 in the Fairfax Health District, 24 in Loudoun County, and 50 in the Prince William Health District.

The region had a larger share of cases as the governor started lifting public health restrictions. At a peak, Northern Virginia accounted for 1,069 of the state's 1,483 new cases on May 25.

On the other hand, Hampton Roads is accounting for a larger share of cases. Virginia Beach alone accounted for 157 new cases on Monday, while Newport News had 96, Chesapeake had 73, Hampton had 56, Norfolk had 40 and Portsmouth had 28.

As of Sunday, 811,187 nasal swab tests have been performed statewide, an increase of 9,982 from Sunday. The 7-day average of positive tests has remained at 6.8 percent since Sunday. The positive rate of tests reached a low of 5.8 percent on June 23 and 24, but have been inching up over the past three weeks. Positive rates may vary by local health district, exemplified by a spike in Norfolk since late June.

Two additional deaths were reported statewide from Sunday to Monday. The 7-day average number of deaths has seen some fluctuations but has been stable in recent days. The current 16.4 average of deaths is down from a peak average of 34.1 on May 28.

Current hospitalizations have started to increase in recent days. According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, 1,129 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, up from 1,045 on Sunday. A total of 9,330 coronavirus patients have been discharged from Virginia hospitals, up by 20 since Sunday.

The hospitalizations include 105 patients on ventilators and 243 in the intensive care unit. Among all hospital patients, 615 of 2,977 ventilators are in use. The 21-percent use has remained stable, and no hospitals report difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment or other medical supplies.

Here are the latest case updates for our coverage areas as of Monday, compared with Sunday's data:

• Alexandria: 2,456 cases, 249 hospitalizations, 57 deaths; increase of one case
• Arlington County: 2,626 cases, 422 hospitalizations, 134 deaths; increase of 11 cases, three hospitalizations removed
• Fairfax County: 14,556 cases, 1,713 hospitalizations, 500 deaths; increase of 74 cases and one hospitalization
• Fairfax City: 73 cases, six hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of one case
• Falls Church: 53 cases, 10 hospitalizations, seven deaths; no change
• Loudoun County: 4,431 cases, 289 hospitalizations, 99 deaths; increase of 24 cases
• Manassas: 1,493 cases, 107 hospitalizations, 19 deaths; increase of eight cases
• Manassas Park: 462 cases, 47 hospitalizations, six deaths; increase of four cases
• Prince William County: 7,847 cases, 705 hospitalizations, 157 deaths; increase of 38 cases
• Fredericksburg: 285 cases, 28 hospitalizations, no deaths; increase of six cases and one hospitalization
• Spotsylvania County: 1,083 cases, 82 hospitalizations, 31 deaths; increase of one case
• Stafford County: 1,065 cases, 106 hospitalizations, six deaths; increase of five cases and two hospitalizations