NEWS

Staunton's COVID cases fall 47.1%; Virginia cases plummet 22%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
Brockton Board of Health Executive Director Eno Mondesir speaks at a news conference announcing a new COVID-19 PCR testing facility at the Shaw's Center in the Massachusetts city on Sept. 2. The city reported 125 COVID-19 cases in the last week of August, and 18 hospitalizations.

Virginia reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 13,195 new cases. That's down 22% from the previous week's tally of 16,908 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Virginia ranked 14th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 4.7% from the week before, with 507,209 cases reported. With 2.56% of the country's population, Virginia had 2.6% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, three states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

The Labor Day holiday may have altered how many people can get tested and when, and when governments report testing results and deaths. This will skew week-to-week comparisons.

Staunton reported 55 cases and two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 104 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 7,075 cases and 126 deaths.

Augusta County reported minus 13 cases and minus two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 88 cases and three deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 22,364 cases and 229 deaths.

Waynesboro reported 229 cases and four deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 181 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 6,790 cases and 74 deaths.

Rockbridge County reported 38 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 56 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 4,611 cases and 89 deaths.

Across Virginia, cases fell in 103 counties, with the best declines in Fairfax County, with 1,342 cases from 1,519 a week earlier; in Lynchburg County, with 141 cases from 287; and in Roanoke County, with 161 cases from 307.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Within Virginia, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Waynesboro with 1,012 cases per 100,000 per week; Tazewell County with 692; and Galax County with 583. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Fairfax County, with 1,342 cases; Prince William County, with 787 cases; and Chesterfield County, with 562. Weekly case counts rose in 28 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Culpeper, Waynesboro and Salem counties.

In Virginia, 124 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 107 people were reported dead.

A total of 2,058,582 people in Virginia have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 21,587 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 95,250,705 people have tested positive and 1,050,323 people have died.

Note: Johns Hopkins University data includes Virginia's independent cities as counties in the listing. There are 133 "county" entries in the data. In cases with naming conflicts, the independent city will be marked with "City County," such as "Fairfax City County" and "Fairfax County."

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Virginia's COVID-19 hospital admissions falling

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Sept. 11. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 1,807
  • The week before that: 1,979
  • Four weeks ago: 2,148

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 60,585
  • The week before that: 61,376
  • Four weeks ago: 69,436

Hospitals in 16 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 22 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 19 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.