With 181 new COVID cases, Waynesboro among outbreaks in Virginia

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read
A child receives her coronavirus vaccine at Knoxville Area Urban League's Shoes for School event in Caswell Park in Tennessee on Aug. 6.
A child receives her coronavirus vaccine at Knoxville Area Urban League's Shoes for School event in Caswell Park in Tennessee on Aug. 6.

Waynesboro reported 181 cases in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 109 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 6,561 cases and 70 deaths.

Virginia reported 16,908 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, from 17,422 the week before of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Virginia ranked 13th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 17.1% from the week before, with 543,317 cases reported. With 2.56% of the country's population, Virginia had 3.11% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 16 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

The Labor Day holiday may have altered how many people can get tested and when, and when governments report testing results and deaths. This will skew week-to-week comparisons.

Staunton reported 104 cases and one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 117 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 7,020 cases and 124 deaths.

Augusta County reported 88 cases and three deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 258 cases and four deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 22,377 cases and 231 deaths.

Rockbridge County reported 56 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 48 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 4,573 cases and 89 deaths.

Within Virginia, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Galax County with 1,119 cases per 100,000 per week; Tazewell County with 1,040; and Waynesboro with a rate of 800 per 100,000 (even though it has fewer people). The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Fairfax County, with 1,519 cases; Prince William County, with 899 cases; and Chesterfield County, with 673. Weekly case counts rose in 58 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Harrisonburg, Petersburg and Tazewell counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Across Virginia, cases fell in 73 counties, with the best declines in Rockingham County, with 227 cases from 910 a week earlier; in Augusta County, with 88 cases from 258; and in Dinwiddie County, with 93 cases from 238.

In Virginia, 107 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 107 people were reported dead.

A total of 2,045,387 people in Virginia have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 21,463 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 94,748,404 people have tested positive and 1,047,498 people have died.

Note: Johns Hopkins University data includes Virginia's independent cities as counties in the listing. There are 133 "county" entries in the data. In cases with naming conflicts, the independent city will be marked with "City County," such as "Fairfax City County" and "Fairfax County."

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Virginia's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Sept. 4. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 1,945

  • The week before that: 1,976

  • Four weeks ago: 2,064

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 63,337

  • The week before that: 64,048

  • Four weeks ago: 71,125

Hospitals in 10 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 15 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 21 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton County reported 104 additional COVID-19 cases this week