Piedmont Health District announces first COVID-19 fatality
A man in his 70s has died from causes related to COVID-19, the Piedmont Health District reported Monday afternoon. This is first coronavirus fatality in the district, which covers Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties southwest of Richmond. With this death, the total of COVID-19-related fatalities statewide is 26, according to […]
Governor orders Virginians to stay at home through June 10
Gov. Ralph Northam has issued a stay-at-home order for all Virginians through June 10. Virginians will only be able to leave their homes for essential reasons — such as picking up groceries or prescriptions, seeking medical care or going to a job if necessary — as the official number of COVID-19 cases in Virginia exceeded [&[...]
The safety net
Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, many Virginia hospital beds were routinely full. “We are 90% to 100% occupied every day in VCU Health, generally [from] elective surgical care,” says Dr. Ron Clark, interim CEO of VCU Hospitals and Clinics. In the days following Gov. Ralph Northam’s state of emergency declaration, heal[...]
Five more COVID-19 deaths announced in Virginia; total at 27
Regional health departments announced five more deaths related to COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the state’s confirmed total to 27. Arlington Health District, which had 84 cases reported Sunday, the second-most in a locality in Virginia, reported its first two deaths from the coronavirus. The first patient was a 72-year-old with chronic medical conditions, who had […]
COVID-19 cases reach 890 on Sunday; 22 deaths in Virginia
Virginia now has 890 COVID-19 cases, the Virginia Department of Health reported Sunday in its 9 a.m. website update. Twenty-two people are reported dead from causes related to the virus, and there are 112 people hospitalized with symptoms, and 10,609 people have been tested. The number of positive cases jumped 151 from Saturday’s update of […]
First COVID-19 death reported in Western Tidewater Health District
A man in his 60s has died from respiratory failure in a hospital, Western Tidewater Health District announced Saturday in a news release. This is the district’s first COVID-19 fatality and likely the 19th death statewide, pending tests on two cases Friday afternoon. The patient had several underlying medical conditions, which exacerbated the effects of […]
Virginia COVID-19 cases nearly at 750
Amid warnings from health officials that Virginia could see COVID-19 cases spike tenfold in the next 10 days, Virginia now has 739 confirmed cases, as of Saturday, March 28, up from 604 the previous day. Ninety-nine people are hospitalized in the commonwealth and as many as 18 may have died from the virus, pending test […[...]
Avula: Virginia COVID-19 cases could jump 10X in next week and a half
Dr. Danny Avula, director of the Henrico County and Richmond health departments, warned Friday, “We need to be prepared that we might have a 10x jump [in the number of COVID-19 cases] in the next week and a half” in the state, which would overwhelm hospitals. Virginia has 604 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday, […[...]
Prince William Health District reports first COVID-19 death; Fairfax reports second death
A man in his 70s died Friday in a hospital from respiratory failure, Prince William Health District officials announced Friday evening. It is the first COVID-19 death recorded in the district, which includes Manassas and Woodbridge Fairfax County Health District reported its second coronavirus death, a man in his 60s who contracted the virus during […]
Two “presumed positive” fatal cases add to death toll at Henrico nursing home
A Henrico County longterm care facility, Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, reported two deaths of “presumed positive” COVID-19 patients in the past 24 hours, in addition to four deaths earlier this week of people whose test results had already come back positive. One man died at a hospital and the other at the center, according […]
Va. coronavirus cases hit 600+ mark
As Virginia saw its largest 24-hour increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam called on President Donald Trump and the federal government to implement a “national solution” for supplying front-line medical workers and first responders with much-needed protective gear and medical equipme[...]
VCU Health physician runs COVID-19 drug trial
A VCU Health liver specialist and gastroenterologist is leading clinical trials for a possible drug treatment for COVID-19 patients. This week, Dr. Arun Sanyal began testing remdesivir, an antiviral medication previously used experimentally to treat the Ebola virus, on several VCU Health System patients with moderate to severe c[...]