Editor’s note: Bearing Drift is grateful to Dr. Bob Holsworth for permission to share his daily Virginia coronavirus updates. For more, follow him on Facebook [1].
CAUTION FLAGS UP!!
1. Hospitalizations: Downward Trend Reversed
The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association’s (VHHA) daily report shows another spike in hospitalizations. There were 956 COVID-19 patients in hospitals yesterday, 1006 today.
This is the largest number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals since June 12. The smallest number since VHHA began reporting on April 8 was 796 on June 29. The largest number was 1625 on May 8.
In the last week, there has been a 23% increase in hospitalizations, an obvious point of concern.
2. Confirmed Cases Up: Highest Single Day in Hampton Roads
The Virginia Department of Health reported 943 new confirmed cases today. There has been only 1 day since June 1 that VDH reported more cases. The 7-day test positivity percentage remained at 6.3%, slightly up this week from a pandemic low of 5.8%.
Once again, the case rise in Hampton Roads communities exceeded that of NOVA and RVA. The 317 cases in the Hampton Roads communities was the largest single day increase of the pandemic and 97 cases higher than yesterday’s 220 number.
VDH also reported 21 COVID-19 related deaths. In the last 4 days there has been 105 reported deaths, bringing the statewide total to 1958.
3. Caution Flags
The situation in the Commonwealth is not, by any means, currently taxing hospital capacity in the manner we are seeing in multiple other states. And the test positivity percentage of 6.3% is far better than the states that are surging.
Yet it appears clear that Hampton Roads is experiencing a heavier impact of the virus and that COVID-19 is taking root in western Virginia communities. The fact of 943 cases with only 202 in the core NOVA communities shows that the pandemic is as prevalent in the rest of Virginia as it has been in any time since its onset.