Va. COVID-19 cases, deaths continue to rise

COVID-19 rates continued to climb last week in Virginia, with an increase of 16,797 cases since Nov. 23, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Nov. 30 dashboard update. The state also reported 120 virus-related deaths in the past week, raising the total number of fatalities over 4,000.

As of Monday, the state has recorded 237,835 cases and 4,062 deaths. The seven-day positivity rate has hit 7.5% statewide as of Nov. 26, the most recent data available. Virginia averages about 2,400 new cases a day, or 28.2 cases per 100,000 people, according to VDH.

Public health officials across the nation prepared for worsening outbreaks due to Thanksgiving travel and gatherings; Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top public health expert, said Sunday that Americans should restrict their travels and visits during Christmas and New Year’s. More than 9 million people traveled through U.S. airports during Thanksgiving week, according to news reports. The U.S., which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world, has passed 13 million cases and 260,000 deaths. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that more than 470,000 U.S. residents could die from COVID-related causes by March 1.

Two weeks ago, Gov. Ralph Northam put in place new restrictions across the state, including limiting gatherings to 25 people and requiring everyone above the age of 5 to don face masks in public, indoor spaces.

The following health districts reported positivity rates above 10% as of Nov. 26:

• Cumberland Plateau (Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Tazewell counties)  — 13.3%, down from 18.7% as of Nov. 19
• Lenowisco (Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the city of Norton) — 14.3%, down from 19.5%
• Mount Rogers (cities of Bristol and Galax and counties of Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, Washington and Wythe) — 17.1%, up from 14.2%
• Pittsylvania-Danville — 10.6%, up from 8.4%
• Prince William — 10.9%, up from 10.7%
• Rappahannock Rapidan (Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties) — 11.9%, up from 7.5%
• Roanoke — 11.0%, up from 9.6%
• West Piedmont (Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties and the city of Martinsville) — 15.1%, up from 13.8%

Several Virginia universities report COVID-19 rates among students, faculty and staff members, although some universities use different reporting metrics and methods. Most closed for Thanksgiving break and will not resume classes in person until January. Virginia Business will share newly reported data as received, but some universities will not update dashboards regularly until next semester.

Here are the most current university stats:

• James Madison University: 1,666 total cases since July 1, with six reported last week as of Nov. 30.
• Virginia Tech: 1,726 positive tests since Aug. 3, with 11 new cases from Nov. 23-30.
• University of Virginia: 1,281 positive cases among students and employees reported since Aug. 17. The university recorded 47 new cases from Nov. 18-27.
• Virginia Commonwealth University: 485 total positive tests, including 420 student cases, as of Nov. 30.
• Old Dominion University: 217 positive cases out of 8,166 tests performed as of Nov. 28. From Nov. 22-28, there were nine new positive tests.
• George Mason University: 218 positive cases among students and employees between Aug. 17 and Nov. 29, including 35 positive tests in the past two weeks.
• Liberty University: 69 positive cases from Nov. 15-24 among students and staff, out of a total 963 cases between Aug. 16-Nov. 24.

These are the 10 Virginia localities that have seen the most cases in the state, as of Nov. 30:

• Fairfax County: 31,072
• Prince William County: 18,352
• Virginia Beach: 10,854
• Loudoun County: 10,049
• Chesterfield County: 9,323
• Henrico County: 8,409
• Richmond: 6,712
• Chesapeake: 6,657
• Norfolk: 6,528
• Arlington County: 6,299

Globally, there are 62.9 million reported COVID-19 cases and 1,463,349 confirmed deaths as of Nov. 30. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 13.4 million confirmed cases so far, with 267,080 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February.

Subscribe to Virginia Business.

Get our daily e-newsletter.