Virginia COVID-19 rate remains steady at 5%

Virginia recorded an increase of 7,447 COVID-19 cases and 124 deaths last week, according to Virginia Department of Health statistics reported Monday, Oct. 26. The state’s positivity rate remained at 5% for the second week.

As the nation sees surges in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the South, West and Midwest, the numbers in Virginia are relatively low compared to other states, which have seen positivity rates zoom far above 10% in recent weeks.

As of Monday, Virginia has seen 174,275 total coronavirus cases and 3,581 deaths since the pandemic started. Last week, attention turned to the state’s plan for distribution of future COVID-19 vaccines, which are still being researched at multiple pharmaceutical companies. Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday that he has directed $22 million of the state’s CARES Act funding to be used in a vaccination program when a vaccine against the virus has been approved and is made broadly available. According to the VDH, the entire program will likely cost $120 million.

The Lenowisco Health District — which covers Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the city of Norton — saw its positivity rate rise to 11.1% as of Oct. 22, up from 11% on Oct. 15. Including Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties and the city of Martinsville, West Piedmont Health District’s rate declined slightly to 11% on Oct. 22, up from 11.2% on Oct. 15.

Several Virginia universities report 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: 1,601 total cases since July 1. The overall positivity rate of student tests at the university’s health center was 1% as of Oct. 25.
• Virginia Tech: 1,394 positive tests since Aug. 3, with 92 new cases from Oct. 19 to Oct. 25. The seven-day positivity rate as of Oct. 25 is 3.7%.
• University of Virginia: 1,075 positive cases among students and employees reported since Aug. 17. The university recorded 53 new cases from Oct. 16-22, according to its tracker.
• Virginia Commonwealth University: 334 total positive tests, including 297 student cases, as of Oct. 23. According to prevalence testing, the positivity rate is 0.28% as of Oct. 23.
• Old Dominion University: 153 positive cases out of 4,981 tests performed as of Oct. 26. From Oct. 18-24, there were 11 new positive tests.
• George Mason University: 113 positive cases among students and employees between Aug. 17 and Oct. 25, including 19 positive tests in the past two weeks.
• Radford University: 489 total positive cases among students and employees as of Oct. 20, with 59 new cases since Oct. 13. Cumulative positivity rate is 10.7% as of Oct. 20. The dashboard is updated each Tuesday.
• Liberty University: 100 positive cases from Oct. 7-20 among students and staff, out of a total 622 cases between Aug. 16-Oct. 20.

These are the 10 Virginia localities that have seen the most cases in the state, as of Oct. 26:

• Fairfax County: 23,462
• Prince William County: 14,015
• Virginia Beach: 7,833
• Loudoun County: 7,784
• Chesterfield County: 6,695
• Henrico County: 6,249
• Norfolk: 5,331
• Richmond: 5,285
• Chesapeake: 4,880
• Arlington County: 4,562

Globally, there are 43.2 million reported COVID-19 cases and 1,155,653 confirmed deaths as of Oct. 26. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 8.65 million confirmed cases so far, with 225,330 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February. On Friday, the U.S. hit 82,900 cases, its highest daily rate since the pandemic started, as well as more hospitalizations in 38 states.

Below is the latest data from VDH:

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