Va. continues COVID-19 case decline

Virginia saw an increase of 7,013 COVID-19 cases last week, as well as 85 deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Oct. 12 update. The state’s positivity rate, 4.5%, decreased by 0.3% since Oct. 5.

The state has reported 159,570 total cases and 3,361 fatalities since the pandemic began. Only one health district statewide — Pittsylvania-Danville, at 10%, up from 7.8% on Oct. 1 — recorded a positivity rate 10% or higher on Oct. 8, the most recent recording available. The district reported 52 outbreaks from Oct. 4-10, including 22 at congregate settings, 11 in long-term care facilities, nine at health care settings, five at child care centers, three at colleges/universities and two at K-12 schools.

Meanwhile, the nation’s eyes remained focused on President Donald Trump, who said Sunday he was ready to resume campaign activities after the White House doctor said he could no longer transmit the virus to others. However, Dr. Sean Conley’s statement Saturday did not address whether Trump had recently tested negative for COVID-19, and several questions — including when the president first tested positive — have gone unanswered.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who tested positive for COVID-19 about two weeks ago and has been working from his residence, is set to give an update Tuesday on the state’s coronavirus spread.

Several Virginia universities are reporting COVID-19 rates among students, faculty and staff members, although some universities use different reporting metrics and methods. Here are the most current university stats:

• James Madison University: 1,549 total cases since July 1. The overall positivity rate of student tests at the university’s health center is 4% as of Oct. 11.
• Virginia Tech: 1,210 positive tests since Aug. 3, with 115 new cases from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11. The seven-day moving average positivity rate as of Oct. 11 is 18.14%.
• University of Virginia: 963 positive cases among students and employees reported since Aug. 17. The university recorded 123 new cases from Oct. 2-8, according to its tracker.
• Virginia Commonwealth University: 298 total positive tests, including 269 student cases, as of Oct. 9. According to prevalence testing, the positivity rate is 0.38% as of Oct. 9.
• Old Dominion University: 121 positive cases out of 3,989 tests performed as of Oct. 12. From Oct. 4-10, there were 51 new positive tests.
• George Mason University: 87 positive cases among students and employees between Aug. 17 and Oct. 8.
• Radford University: 413 total positive cases among students and employees as of Oct. 5, with two new cases since Sept. 28. Cumulative positivity rate is 9.98% as of Oct. 5. The dashboard is updated each Tuesday.
• Liberty University: 128 total positive cases from Sept. 24-Oct. 6, out of a total 506 cases between Aug. 16-Oct. 6.

These are the 10 Virginia localities that have seen the most cases in the state, as of Oct. 5:

• Fairfax County: 22,089
• Prince William County: 13,166
• Virginia Beach: 7,319
• Loudoun County: 7,259
• Chesterfield County: 6,396
• Henrico County: 5,782
• Norfolk: 5,064
• Richmond: 4,945
• Chesapeake: 4,594
• Arlington County: 4,209

Globally, there are 37.6 million reported COVID-19 cases and 1,078,699 confirmed deaths as of Oct. 12. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 7.79 million confirmed cases so far, with 214,985 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February.

Below is the latest data from VDH:

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