PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia’s COVID hospitalizations remain around record levels, with a record 385 on ventilators, but virus levels do appear to be dropping somewhat.
Case numbers and the percent of tests coming back positive are still near record levels that are significantly higher than previous peaks, but both have dropped over the past week.
Cases reported per day are about 4,000 down from the record peak recorded last week. Test positivity is down to 32% from the peak of 36% on Jan. 7. It’s above 40% in Hampton Roads.
However hospital capacity has been stretched thin, just 137 adult ICU beds available statewide. That low capacity means some patients could see delayed care/ may have to travel farther to get care.
Here’s what the director of an overwhelmed Rhode Island hospital emergency room told the Washington Post.
The overwhelming number of patients with severe COVID symptoms continue to be unvaccinated.
Statewide metrics
- New cases: +12,480 (1,419,883 total), 14,947 on average (highest levels of pandemic)
- Deaths: +13 (15,835 total), has been down (12 per day on average now) but VDH says there’s a reporting delay this month as it applies new federal guidelines for COVID-19 associated deaths
- Current hospitalizations: -6 patients (3,942 total currently and 3,875 7-day average, record average) ICU numbers drop slightly (655) from record set yesterday (676 patients), ventilator usage at new record level (385 patients)
- (1,804 total beds still available statewide, 358 for ICU (adult and pediatric), just 137 adult ICU beds
- Test positivity: 32%, has dropped from record of 36% on Jan. 7, was 5-6% in November
- Vaccine doses administered: 14,501,193
- Percent of population with at least one dose: 78.6% (6,711,259)
- Percent of adults (18+) with at least one dose: 89.8%
- Percent of population fully vaccinated: 68.5% (5,842,725)
- Percent of adults fully vaccinated: 78.6%
- People vaccinated with booster/third dose: 2,345,192
Local cases
- Accomack: 6,095 cases, 372 hospitalized, 86 deaths (+46 cases, +3 hospitalized, +1 death)
- Chesapeake: 43,825 cases, 1,537 hospitalized, 383 deaths (+382 cases, +7 hospitalized)
- Franklin: 2,205 cases, 86 hospitalized, 43 deaths (+20 cases, +2 hospitalized)
- Gloucester: 6,151 cases, 97 hospitalized, 84 deaths (+88 cases, +1 hospitalized, +1 death)
- Hampton: 24,149 cases, 968 hospitalized, 258 deaths (+223 cases +5 hospitalized)
- Isle of Wight: 6,386 cases, 294 hospitalized, 92 deaths (+74 cases, -2 hospitalized)
- James City County: 12,298 cases, 335 hospitalized, 100 deaths (+133 cases, +1 hospitalized)
- Mathews: 1,254 cases, 31 hospitalized, 24 deaths (+19 cases)
- Newport News: 31,915 cases, 986 hospitalized, 320 deaths (+294 cases, -2 hospitalized)
- Norfolk: 36,938 cases, 1,985 hospitalized, 371 deaths (+364 cases, +12 hospitalized)
- Northampton: 1,767 cases, 120 hospitalized, 51 deaths (+19 cases)
- Poquoson: 2,027 cases, 45 hospitalized, 24 deaths (+18 cases, +2 hospitalized)
- Portsmouth: 18,674 cases, 1089 hospitalized, 256 deaths (+157 case, +5 hospitalized)
- Southampton: 2,944 cases, 101 hospitalized, 75 deaths (+15 cases, -1 hospitalized)
- Suffolk: 16,438 cases, 932 hospitalized, 256 deaths (+251 cases, +9 hospitalized)
- Virginia Beach: 78,507 cases, 3,555 hospitalized, 621 deaths (+714 cases, +38 hospitalized)
- Williamsburg: 1,476 cases, 68 hospitalized, 13 deaths (+11 cases, +1 hospitalized)
- York: 8,398 cases, 172 hospitalized, 87 deaths (+66 cases, -2 hospitalized)
Local test positivity: 40.45% on average, has come back down
- Chesapeake – 43.4%
- Eastern Shore – 43.6%
- Hampton – 41.2%
- Norfolk – 41.9%
- Peninsula – 36.6%
- Portsmouth – 40.6%
- Virginia Beach – 42.4%
- Western Tidewater – 33.9%