Virginia's 7-Day Average Of Coronavirus Cases Tops 1,000

Mark Hand
·4 min read

VIRGINIA — The Virginia Department of Health reported 1,245 additional coronavirus cases Saturday, representing the highest daily increase in July. The large daily increase in cases lifted the 7-day moving average of new cases above 1,000.

On Saturday, Virginia also passed the 1 million nasal swab test count as 20,126 new tests were reported from Friday to Saturday. Virginia has now conducted 1,007,314 nasal swab tests for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Among positive tests, the 7-day average now stands at 1,034, almost twice the average of 530 positive tests a month ago on June 25. The big increase in the 7-day moving average comes after the average decreased in the first half of June and stabilized in the second half.

The latest cumulative coronavirus data totals statewide in Virginia are 83,609 cases, 7,570 hospitalizations and 2,075 deaths.

Of the 1,245 new cases, 719 were from the Eastern Region of the state, which includes Virginia Beach. The Eastern Region also has the most patients hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19, with 430 as of Saturday. Only 196 are hospitalized in Northern Virginia.

Although Saturday represented a July record for new cases, it wasn't the highest daily increase Virginia has experienced throughout the pandemic. The 1,615 cases reported on May 26 was the highest daily increase, followed by 1,483 on May 25 and 1,284 on June 7.

The 7-day average of deaths, however, is close to only a third of the average at the start of July. The latest average is 7.1 deaths on Saturday, compared to a monthly peak of 20.3 deaths on July 3. The peak average throughout the pandemic had been 34.1 deaths on May 28.

On Saturday, Northern Virginia, the state's most populous region, accounted for only 154, or 12.4 percent, of the 1,245 new cases reported in Virginia. There were eight new deaths reported across Virginia on Saturday, including three in Northern Virginia.

The statewide 7-day average of positive nasal swab tests was at 7.5 percent as of July 21, the most recent date for which the VDH has data on the testing percentage. Northern Virginia's average remains significantly lower at 5.1 percent as of July 22.

Current hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients decreased from 1,250 to 1,201 on Saturday, according to Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association data. There have been 10,800 COVID-19 patients discharged, up from 10,576 on Friday.

The COVID-19 hospitalizations include 138 on ventilators and 266 in the intensive care units. Ventilator use is at 20 percent statewide, with hospital patients using 614 of 3,075 available ventilators. ICU occupancy increased from 77 percent Friday to 78 percent Saturday among all hospital patients; the statewide average in 2019 was 67 percent.

As of Saturday, no hospitals were reporting difficulty obtaining personal protective gear in the next 72 hours. For the past several days, VDH was reporting that one unidentified hospital in the state was reporting difficulty getting PPE and other gear.

Here are the latest case updates for our coverage areas from Friday to Saturday:

  • Alexandria: 2,687 cases, 264 hospitalizations, 57 deaths; increase of 25 cases, two hospitalizations and one death.

  • Arlington County: 2,801 cases, 431 hospitalizations, 135 deaths; increase of 18 cases.

  • Fairfax County: 15,265 cases, 1,849 hospitalizations, 515 deaths; increase of 34 cases, 12 hospitalizations and two deaths.

  • Fairfax City: 74 cases, 10 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of one case and one hospitalization.

  • Falls Church: 55 cases, 10 hospitalizations, six deaths; no change.

  • Loudoun County: 4,796 cases, 325 hospitalizations, 106 deaths; increase of 27 cases and decrease of one hospitalization.

  • Manassas: 1,561 cases, 117 hospitalizations, 20 deaths; increase of two cases.

  • Manassas Park: 482 cases, 49 hospitalizations, seven deaths; no change.

  • Prince William County: 8,417 cases, 762 hospitalizations, 167 deaths; increase of 47 cases.

  • Fredericksburg: 318 cases, 36 hospitalizations, two deaths; increase of six cases, five hospitalization and one death.

  • Spotsylvania County: 1,212 cases, 89 hospitalizations, 32 deaths; decrease of one case, increase of two hospitalizations and decrease of one death.

  • Stafford County: 1,176 cases, 111 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of seven cases.

RELATED: VA Coronavirus Cases Up By 1,127, Highest Daily Increase In July

This article originally appeared on the Fairfax City Patch