PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia Department of Health reported 732 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday morning, by far the highest per day increase for the commonwealth so far.
That number includes 57 new reported probable cases, in which a doctor makes a COVID-19 diagnosis without a test. Even without the 57 probable cases, Thursday’s increase of 675 new COVID-19 cases confirmed by testing rose by 675, the most of any day so far.
The Virginia Health Department started including probable cases in their overall total this week, but break down the numbers into cases confirmed by testing and probable cases. VDH first established a protocol for doctors to diagnose probable cases on April 5, but those probable cases were not added to total numbers before April 21, VDH spokesperson Larry Hill said.
Earlier this week, Governor Ralph Northam said one model had Virginia’s peak around the end of the week, though it could happen around early May. The peak is expected to plateau as well, with new cases expected to remain steady (unclear how long) before dropping off.
The health department also reported 23 new deaths compared to Wednesday, up to 372 overall.
Testing numbers also had a notable increase from 60,778 on Wednesday to 64,518, a jump of 3,740. Virginia had only been averaging roughly 2,000 new tests in the past few weeks.
Here are the latest numbers for the Tidewater region:
Accomack: 76 cases, 17 hospitalized, 2 deaths
Chesapeake: 186 cases, 40 hospitalized, 5 deaths
Franklin: 15 cases, 0 hospitalized, 0 deaths
Gloucester: 21 cases, 4 hospitalized, 1 death
Hampton: 99 cases, 26 hospitalized, 1 death
Isle of Wight: 91 cases, 8 hospitalized, 2 deaths
James City County: 149 cases, 51 hospitalized, 12 deaths
Mathews: 3 cases, 1 hospitalized, 0 deaths,
Newport News: 105 cases, 32 hospitalized, 6 deaths
Norfolk: 136 cases, 31 hospitalized, 3 deaths
Northampton: 12 cases 1 hospitalized, 0 deaths
Poquoson: 6 cases, 2 hospitalized, 0 deaths
Portsmouth: 98 cases, 30 hospitalized, 4 deaths
Southampton: 71 cases, 3 hospitalized, 1 death
Suffolk: 136 cases, 29 hospitalized, 3 deaths
Virginia Beach: 328 cases, 61 hospitalized, 8 deaths
Williamsburg: 14 cases, 5 hospitalized, 1 death
York: 43 cases, 6 hospitalized, 1 death
The health department’s website, which was was down for most Wednesday due to technical issues, was also down so a moment on Thursday morning. It has since gone back online.
Hospitalizations
On Thursday, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, which gives a more accurate look at current hospitalizations compared to VDH data, reported a slight increase in currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients (5 more than Wednesday) with confirmed positive results and those whose test results are still pending.
Current hospitalizations have continued to trend upward slightly, but hospitalizations have remained mostly steady in recent weeks.