PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Hampton Roads reported its lowest daily increase in cases in over a week on Wednesday as Virginia passed 80,000 cumulative cases.
Wednesday’s increase of 400 cases (of 1,022 total new cases statewide) comes 3 days after the region added a record 555 new cases. Cases have decreased each day since.
It’s been just about 3 weeks now since the region’s 7-day average started its climb from about 100 cases a day to the current average of about 450 per day.
Simultaneously the region’s 7-day average of percent of positive cases increased heavily in that span to the current 13.1%, boosting Virginia’s overall percentage to 7.9% as of Wednesday.
Virginia leaders originally said a 10% was the benchmark for safely reopening the economy. Hampton Roads has been above 10% for several weeks now.
Statewide numbers:
- New cases: (+ 1,022, 80,393 total) — trending up overall, especially in Hampton Roads
- New deaths (+3, 2,051 total) — Daily reported deaths lag “Deaths by day of death,” the metric that shows the actual day a COVID-19 patient died, which continues to decline from peak of 37 per day in early May
- Hospitalizations (-32, 1,157 total) — trending up overall after falling to low of 783 patients on July 6, ICU and ventilator numbers still low, 10,235 patients discharged since start of pandemic
- Testing (7.9% positive tests overall, 7-day average went above 7% for first time since June 12 last week, trending up due to increases in Hampton Roads
Most of the new cases have come in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, with Virginia Beach reporting more cases this month than the rest of the pandemic combined. The city recorded a record spike of 16 hospitalizations on Wednesday to contribute to Wednesday’s total of 29 in the region, though the Virginia Health Department’s hospitalization numbers lag current hospitalizations.
Hospitalizations have been up across the board in Hampton Roads (about 15 per day) due the higher numbers of cases in the community, creeping up toward the 7-day average of about 16 hospitalizations per day recorded back in early April.
The 7-day average of deaths locally (about 3 per day) is still below early May’s 4 per day, but is creeping up as well. Deaths statewide and nationally have mostly been down due to more cases in young people and better hospital outcomes.
Here’s the latest count for Hampton Roads and the whole Tidewater region (numbers are cumulative)
- Accomack: 1,057 cases, 76 hospitalized, 15 deaths (+2 hospitalizations)
- Chesapeake: 1,850 cases, 176 hospitalized, 24 deaths (+60 cases, +2 hospitalizations)
- Franklin: 96 cases, 7 hospitalized, 4 deaths
- Gloucester: 112 cases, 11 hospitalized, 1 death (+3 cases)
- Hampton: 772 cases, 43 hospitalized, 4 deaths (+21 cases)
- Isle of Wight: 288 cases, 19 hospitalized, 9 deaths (+5 cases)
- James City County: 464 cases, 59 hospitalized, 16 deaths (+8 cases)
- Mathews: 9 cases, 2 hospitalized, 0 deaths
- Newport News: 1,276 cases, 65 hospitalized, 14 deaths (+39 cases, +1 hospitalization)
- Norfolk: 2,389 cases, 149 hospitalized, 20 deaths (+60 cases, +4 hospitalizations, +1 death)
- Northampton: 285 cases, 44 hospitalized, 28 deaths (+4 cases)
- Poquoson: 30 cases, 2 hospitalized, 0 deaths (+2 cases)
- Portsmouth: 1,085 cases, 103 hospitalized, 21 deaths (+39 cases, +2 hospitalizations)
- Southampton: 205 cases, 10 hospitalized, 11 deaths (+1 case)
- Suffolk: 797 cases, 77 hospitalized, 45 deaths (+17 cases, +1 hospitalized)
- Virginia Beach: 2,968 cases, 170 hospitalized, 39 deaths (+139 cases, +16 hospitalizations, +1 death)
- Williamsburg: 97 cases, 12 hospitalized, 6 deaths (+1 case)
- York: 237 cases, 13 hospitalized, 3 deaths (+3 cases, +1 hospitalization)
Key local metrics
- 404 new cases (400 in Hampton Roads)
- 2 new deaths (7-day average around 3 per day) – trending up
- 29 new hospitalizations — trending up, most in a day since early April 1
- 13% 7-day average of positive tests in Hampton Roads (trending up in nearly every locality)
7-day positivity rates
Chesapeake – 13.1% — appearing to trend back down after steep increase since late June
Eastern Shore – 4.8% — hovering around 4%, low overall (low overall testing)
Hampton – 11.1 % — trending up overall
Norfolk – 15.4% — down slightly from high of 17% reported last Thursday
Peninsula — 11.2% — trending up overall after steep rise
Portsmouth — 18.1 % — rising again after slight dip
Virginia Beach — 12% — trending up overall
Western Tidewater — 11.2% — trending up
For more information from the Virginia Department of Health, click here.