Virginia Nov. 30 COVID-19 update: Hospitalizations in Va. at record levels, 1,893 cases and 4 new deaths reported

Posted: Nov 30, 2020 / 10:04 AM EST

Updated: Nov 30, 2020 / 10:04 AM EST

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are at an all-time high and trending up, and that’s not even accounting for nearly all of the potential cases contracted over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The 1,658 current hospitalizations statewide (310 in Hampton Roads) are 33 more than Virginia’s previous record in May (1,625). Virginia had just eclipsed that record on Sunday.

Statewide numbers:

New cases: (+1,893, 237,835 total), steep rise, more than double case levels of most of pandemic
Case incidence rate: 28.2 per 100K, trending up overall
New deaths (+4, 4,062 total), steady overall, but trending back up
Current hospitalizations (+30 patients, 1,658 total), at record levels, trending up
Testing (7.5% 7-day average of positive tests), trending up overall, Virginia averaging around 25,000 tests per day

The good news is that hospitalization outcomes are much improved compared to earlier in the pandemic, but more hospitalizations only further tax health care workers who’ve been battling the virus since the spring. ICU occupancy is currently at 72% statewide, Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association data shows.

The bad news is these current hospitalizations are not from infections picked up over the Thanksgiving holiday. It typically takes 5-7 days for someone to show symptoms of COVID-19, but the incubation period for the virus can be up to 14 days after exposure. Virginia is only reporting roughly 200 cases that involve symptoms since Thanksgiving. That number is expected to be grow heavily.

Remember that reported case numbers are also typically down after holidays and weekends, so recent, relatively lower numbers of reported cases and deaths don’t mean things are trending down. Look for those numbers to increase again as the Virginia Department of Health inputs backlogged data.

Meanwhile the U.S. is now averaging about 1,400 COVID-19 deaths per day, and hospitalizations continue to break records.

Our daily update is published. Our testing, case, and death statistics continue to be affected by the Thanksgiving holiday. Hospitalizations are less affected by the data slowdown and are at the record-high level of 93,238. pic.twitter.com/LVZnxVme4p
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) November 30, 2020

US coronavirus cases by month in 2020:

March: 186,200
April: 883,199
May: 723,166
June: 845,736
July: 1,926,970
August: 1,479,756
September: 1,215,901
October: 1,940,522
November: 4,252,822

(As of 9 a.m. ET Nov. 30, 2020)
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 30, 2020

Local cases

Cumulative counts

Accomack: 1,346 cases, 107 hospitalized, 21 deaths (+1 case)
Chesapeake: 6,657 cases, 534 hospitalized, 80 deaths (+36 cases, +1 hospitalized)
Franklin: 547 cases, 27 hospitalized, 16 deaths (+2 cases)
Gloucester: 475 cases, 20 hospitalized, 3 deaths (+12 cases, +1 hospitalized)
Hampton: 2,816 cases, 120 hospitalized, 35 deaths (+22 cases, +3 hospitalized)
Isle of Wight: 1,038 cases, 55 hospitalized, 28 deaths (+6 cases)
James City County: 1,209 cases, 72 hospitalized, 22 deaths (+9 cases)
Mathews: 160 cases, 12 hospitalized, 1 death (+1 case)
Newport News: 4,061 cases, 143 hospitalized, 55 deaths (+38 cases)
Norfolk: 6,528 cases, 458 hospitalized, 91 deaths (+2 hospitalized, +1 death)
Northampton: 352 cases, 50 hospitalized, 31 deaths (no change)
Poquoson: 146 cases, 3 hospitalized, 2 deaths (+3 cases)
Portsmouth: 3,202 cases, 350 hospitalized, 71 deaths (+9 cases)
Southampton: 986 cases, 32 hospitalized, 40 deaths (-2 cases)
Suffolk: 2,762 cases, 160 hospitalized, 80 deaths (+5 cases)
Virginia Beach: 10,854 cases, 530 hospitalized, 113 deaths (+39 cases, +3 hospitalized)
Williamsburg: 289 cases, 17 hospitalized, 8 deaths (no change)
York: 921 cases, 27 hospitalized, 9 deaths (+13 cases)