Staunton's COVID cases fall 42.9%; Virginia cases plummet 11.6%
While new COVID cases rose slightly in Waynesboro and Augusta County, they were nearly halved in the city of Staunton. And no locality reported a COVID-related death.
Virginia reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 17,777 new cases. That's down 11.6% from the previous week's tally of 20,114 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Virginia ranked 15th 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 0.7% from the week before, with 730,572 cases reported. With 2.56% of the country's population, Virginia had 2.43% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 15 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Staunton reported 40 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 70 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 5,976 cases and 117 deaths.
Augusta County reported 183 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 170 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 19,930 cases and 210 deaths.
Waynesboro County reported 36 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 29 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 6,219 cases and 68 deaths.
Across Virginia, cases fell in 83 counties, with the best declines in Fairfax County, with 2,718 cases from 3,207 a week earlier; in Loudoun County, with 1,002 cases from 1,247; and in Prince William County, with 954 cases from 1,195.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Within Virginia, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Falls Church County with 465 cases per 100,000 per week; Galax County with 425; and Campbell County with 414. 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 2,718 cases; Loudoun County, with 1,002 cases; and Prince William County, with 954. Weekly case counts rose in 47 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Campbell, Amherst and Hanover counties.
In Virginia, 12 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 17 people were reported dead.
A total of 1,835,591 people in Virginia have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 20,453 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 86,246,101 people have tested positive and 1,013,413 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."
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Virginia's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, June 19.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Last week: 1,849
The week before that: 1,874
Four weeks ago: 1,803
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Last week: 59,526
The week before that: 57,395
Four weeks ago: 52,179
Hospitals in 29 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 25 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 31 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 reported 40 new COVID-19 cases this week
