NoVA Goes 2 Straight Days Without New Reported Coronavirus Death

VIRGINIA — No new deaths from the coronavirus were reported Tuesday in Northern Virginia, marking the second day in a row the region has not lost a person to the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus, according to the latest data from the Virginia Department of Health. Statewide, nine new deaths were reported Tuesday.

The number of deaths in Northern Virginia has been declining over the past month. The VDH reported four deaths in the region Sunday, the last time a new death was reported in Northern Virginia. On Saturday, health officials reported three new deaths in the region.

As the number of new coronavirus cases increases across the state, a smaller percentage of those new cases are coming from Northern Virginia. The VDH reported 801 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, a large decline from the 972 new cases reported Monday but still much higher than the average daily increase for much of June.

Northern Virginia's four counties and five independent cities accounted for just 132 cases, or 16.5 percent, of Virginia's 801 new cases reported Tuesday. That includes nine in Alexandria, 34 in Arlington County, 19 in the Fairfax Health District, 27 in Loudoun County, and 43 in the Prince William Health District.

On the other hand, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and Portsmouth in southeastern Virginia on Tuesday reported large increases in the number of new positive cases.

Northern Virginia had a larger share of cases as the governor started lifting public health restrictions. At a peak, Northern Virginia accounted for 1,069 of the state's 1,483 new cases on May 25.

The statewide cumulative totals now stand at 72,443 cases, 6,817 hospitalizations and 1,977 deaths.

After the 7-day moving average of new daily cases stayed in the 500s throughout much of June, a slight uptick in the average started on July 8. New cases totaled 943 on July 10, 851 on July 11 and 888 on July 12. Monday's 972 new cases represented the highest total since June 7, when 1,284 new cases were reported.

As of Tuesday, 828,017 nasal swab tests have been performed statewide, an increase of 16,830 from Monday. The 7-day average of positive tests climbed to 6.9 percent on Friday, the most recent data provided by the VDH, up from 6.8 percent last Thursday. The positive rate of tests reached a low of 5.8 percent on June 23 and 24, but have been inching up over the past three weeks.

Current hospitalizations have been increasing in recent days. According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, 1,127 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized as of Tuesday. In late June, the association was reporting fewer than 900 hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients. A total of 9,423 coronavirus patients have been discharged from Virginia hospitals, up by 93 since Monday.

The hospitalizations include 112 patients on ventilators and 249 in the intensive care unit as of Tuesday. Among all hospital patients, 641 of 3,018 ventilators are in use. The 21-percent use has remained stable, and no hospitals report difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment or other medical supplies.

Here are the latest case updates for our coverage areas as of Tuesday, compared with Monday's data:

• Alexandria: 2,465 cases, 250 hospitalizations, 57 deaths; increase of nine cases and one hospitalization.
• Arlington County: 2,660 cases, 422 hospitalizations, 134 deaths; increase of 34 cases.
• Fairfax County: 14,574 cases, 1,723 hospitalizations, 500 deaths; increase of 18 cases and 10 hospitalizations.
• Fairfax City: 74 cases, six hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of one case.
• Falls Church: 53 cases, 10 hospitalizations, seven deaths; no change.
• Loudoun County: 4,458 cases, 296 hospitalizations, 99 deaths; increase of 27 cases and seven hospitalizations.
• Manassas: 1,494 cases, 107 hospitalizations, 19 deaths; increase of one case.
• Manassas Park: 461 cases, 47 hospitalizations, six deaths; decrease of one case.
• Prince William County: 7,890 cases, 710 hospitalizations, 157 deaths; increase of 43 cases and five hospitalizations.
• Fredericksburg: 287 cases, 28 hospitalizations, no deaths; increase of two cases.
• Spotsylvania County: 1,088 cases, 84 hospitalizations, 32 deaths; increase of five cases, two hospitalizations and one death.
• Stafford County: 1,075 cases, 106 hospitalizations, six deaths; increase of 10 cases.