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Coronavirus deaths surpass 5,000 in commonwealth
Rich Griset //January 4, 2021//
Coronavirus deaths surpass 5,000 in commonwealth
Rich Griset// January 4, 2021//
Just after surpassing more than 5,000 coronavirus-related deaths, Virginia hit its highest daily average of new COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row.
As of Monday, the state’s seven-day average of new cases stands at a record high of 4,480. On Saturday, Jan. 2, the average was 4,168; on Sunday, Jan. 3, the average was 4,313.
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge following the holidays, some of America’s large metropolitan hospitals are feeling the strain, pushing occupancy limits and overwhelming staff. In Virginia, however, the situation doesn’t yet appear as dire.
According to Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association spokesman Julian Walker, intensive-care unit beds are currently at 82% occupancy statewide; for comparison, 2019’s statewide average was 67%. With “surge beds” – beds repurposed for ICU use – factored in, he says, the state is currently operating at 55% ICU bed capacity.
“Capacity isn’t as much a concern,” says Walker, explaining that staffing may prove the greater issue due to health care workers becoming ill or quarantining due to an exposure; VHHA does not track figures on employees out of work because of the pandemic. “I wouldn’t say that we’re at a critical point in Virginia, but that doesn’t mean that things aren’t heading in an upward trajectory.”
Virginia recorded 31,361 new COVID-19 cases and 271 deaths last week, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Jan. 4 update. The current seven-day positivity rate is 15.8%, up 3.5% from a week ago, with an average of 4,480 new cases reported daily.
Walker says 2,765 patients in Virginia are currently receiving in-patient care for COVID-19, roughly 2,400 of which have confirmed positive tests — a leap of more than 1,100 hospitalized COVID patients over the past month.
“Hospitals certainly experienced a bump post-Thanksgiving, and the unfortunate expectation is that in the post-holiday period that there may be another bump, which leads to continued escalation in the number of cases, including the number of people that are hospitalized,” Walker says. “The concern is that if the numbers continue on this trajectory, that could become problematic.”
Dr. Nicolas Restrepo, vice president of medical affairs for Valley Health’s Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, says his health care system has worked to increase capacity.
In the spring, the system maxed out at 40 COVID-19 patients; two days ago, Valley Health reached a new high of caring for 148 individuals for COVID-19. Restrepo says PPE supply chain improvements and gains made in testing have helped increase their capacity.
Still, he says the pandemic is hard on his staff.
“It’s taxing,” says Restrepo. “It is definitely creating a lot of wear and tear on the staff and challenging their resilience. But they’re an incredible group of people, and they continue to move forward, and they continue to support one another, and they continue to provide tremendous care to their patients.”
The state has reported 367,536 cases and 5,132 deaths since March.
Meanwhile, 87,618 people in Virginia have received one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 404,675 doses from Moderna and Pfizer Inc. have been distributed as of Jan. 3, VDH reported. Two doses of each vaccine are required to be fully vaccinated.
In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance from a panel of doctors and public health experts, which set vaccination priorities that Virginia is following. After frontline care givers and long-term care facility residents and workers receive the vaccine, the next populations in line for COVID-19 vaccinations would be people ages 75 and older and about 30 million “frontline essential workers,” including grocery store workers, teachers and emergency responders. Others — including people age 65 to 74 and those with serious health conditions — will follow these groups, and Virginia public health officials expect the vaccines to be broadly available by summer 2021.
Until then, Walker stresses the need for resiliency.
“Everyone has pandemic fatigue, everyone wants this to be over,” Walker says. “There is hope in the form of the vaccine, but it’s still going to be months before the general public has access to the vaccine and months before a sufficient number of Americans have been vaccinated to reach the point of herd immunity.”
On Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will take part in an online event open to the public, Facts & Faith Friday. He will be joined by Gov. Ralph Northam, State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver, VCU Massey Cancer Center Director Dr. Robert Winn and other state officials in a discussion about the COVID-19 vaccine. To register for the event, click here.
The following health districts reported positivity rates above 10% as of Dec. 31:
These are the 10 Virginia localities that have seen the most cases in the state, as of Jan. 4:
Globally, there are 85.2 million reported COVID-19 cases and 1,845,408 confirmed deaths, as of Jan. 4. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 20.6 million confirmed cases so far, with 351,590 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February.
