Petersburg reports 23 new COVID cases; Virginia cases surge 24.8%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·4 min read
In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,002,173 people have died as of May 22.
In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,002,173 people have died as of May 22.

New coronavirus cases leaped in Virginia in the week ending Sunday, rising 24.8% as 22,102 cases were reported. The previous week had 17,710 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Virginia ranked 17th 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 increased 31.8% from the week before, with 796,108 cases reported. With 2.56% of the country's population, Virginia had 2.78% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 42 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Petersburg reported 23 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 19 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 8,320 cases and 140 deaths.

Colonial Heights reported 42 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 25 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 5,000 cases and 97 deaths.

Hopewell reported 34 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 13 cases and minus one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 6,175 cases and 118 deaths.

Prince George County reported 93 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 63 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 9,010 cases and 79 deaths.

Dinwiddie County reported 39 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 36 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 5,481 cases and 93 deaths.

Sussex County reported minus one case and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported eight cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 2,418 cases and 42 deaths.

Within Virginia, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Arlington County with 555 cases per 100,000 per week; Alexandria with 507; and Falls Church with 486. 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 3,889 cases; Loudoun County, with 1,419 cases; and Arlington County, with 1,315. Weekly case counts rose in 108 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Fairfax, Prince William and Virginia Beach.

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

Virginia ranked 12th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 85.7% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.7%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Wednesday, Virginia reported administering another 80,466 vaccine doses, including 13,061 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 83,005 vaccine doses, including 11,235 first doses. In all, Virginia reported it has administered 16,516,534 total doses.

Across Virginia, cases fell in 19 counties, with the best declines in Augusta County, with 186 cases from 226 a week earlier; in Culpeper County, with 68 cases from 84; and in Charles City County, with 3 cases from 16.

In Virginia, 21 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 37 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,755,290 people in Virginia have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 20,338 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 83,281,329 people have tested positive and 1,002,173 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 rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 22.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 1,898

  • The week before that: 1,493

  • Four weeks ago: 1,116

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 53,333

  • The week before that: 49,215

  • Four weeks ago: 39,443

Hospitals in 31 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 29 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 37 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 The Progress-Index: Petersburg reported 23 additional COVID-19 cases this week