Backlog Accounts For 2,015 New Coronavirus Cases In Virginia

VIRGINIA — An additional 2,015 coronavirus cases were reported statewide Friday, which the Virginia Department of Health attributed to a backlog of cases. The number reflects cases that should have been reported on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as Friday's cases. There had been 798 cases reported on Wednesday and 818 on Thursday.

VDH cited a technical issue involving a system performance configuration. VDH also provides cases by the date symptoms began, although this data may be incomplete for the most recent weeks.

Before the backlog had been reported, the 7-day average of new cases dropped below 1,000 for the first time since July 24. The latest cumulative totals in Virginia are 97,882 cases, 8,281 hospitalizations, and 2,317 deaths.

New cases by health region include 622 in the eastern region, 446 in the northern region, 398 in the southwest region, 345 in the central region, and 204 in the northwest region.

The statewide positive rate of tests remains steady at 7.3 percent. The averages by region are 9.7 percent in the eastern region, 8.1 percent in the southwest region, 7.2 percent in the central region, 5.8 percent in the northern region and 5 percent in the northwest. As of Friday, 1,205,004 PCR tests have been completed in Virginia, an increase of 13,700 from Thursday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations increased from 1,349 to 1,372 on Friday with the eastern region continuing to lead the state. The breakdown by region is 551 in the eastern region, 279 in the northern region, 220 in the central region, 199 in the southwest region, and 100 in the northwest region. Across Virginia, 12,725 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals.

The hospitalizations include 159 patients on ventilators and 284 in the intensive care units, according to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. Ventilator use is at 20 percent among all hospital patients, and ICU occupancy is at 80 percent. The average ICU occupancy in Virginia for 2019 was 67 percent. No hospitals are reporting difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment or other medical supplies.

Earlier this week, Gov. Ralph Northam and the Virginia Department of Health announced the new COVIDWISE app for possible coronavirus exposure notifications. Virginia became the first state to offer an app using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to notify people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. The app assigns random keys to users, checking the keys of positive cases against ones they encountered in the last 14 days. If a positive case was within close proximity of another person for at least 15 minutes, that close contact will be notified. Because the app is voluntary, the app's effectiveness is dependent on positive cases reporting their test result to the app.

On the contact tracing front, health officials has reached 85.3 percent of positive cases within 24 hours. The percentage of contacts health officials have reached to date is 81.6 percent. A total of 10,413 contacts are under public health monitoring due to potential exposure. VDH provides weekly updates on statewide contact tracing data.

Here are the latest case updates for our coverage areas between Thursday and Friday:

• Alexandria: 2,917 cases, 275 hospitalizations, 60 deaths; increase of 30 cases and one hospitalization
• Arlington County: 3,037 cases, 436 hospitalizations, 135 deaths; increase of 24 cases
• Fairfax County: 16,241 cases, 1,927 hospitalizations, 530 deaths; increase of 154 cases, 14 hospitalizations and three deaths
• Fairfax City: 84 cases, 11 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of two cases
• Falls Church: 60 cases, nine hospitalizations, six deaths; no change
• Loudoun County: 5,196 cases, 346 hospitalizations, 115 deaths; increase of 46 cases and four hospitalizations
• Manassas: 1,636 cases, 121 hospitalizations, 21 deaths; increase of 11 cases, one hospitalization and one death
• Manassas Park: 507 cases, 50 hospitalizations, seven deaths; increase of one case
• Prince William County: 9,340 cases, 801 hospitalizations, 177 deaths; increase of 177 cases and seven hospitalizations
• Fredericksburg: 396 cases, 44 hospitalizations, three deaths; increase of eight cases and one hospitalization
• Spotsylvania County: 1,449 cases, 95 hospitalizations, 35 deaths; increase of 28 cases
• Stafford County: 1,350 cases, 120 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of 34 cases and two hospitalizations

SEE ALSO:

• Coronavirus Exposure Notification App Launches In Virginia
• VA's Coronavirus Average Drops below 1K For First Time In 2 Weeks