PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — While Virginia reported a relatively low 416 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the same day the commonwealth entered phase 3, Hampton Roads recorded another day of more than 100 cases.

Statewide numbers:

  • New cases: (+ 416, 63,203 total) — 100-plus below 7-day average of 527 cases
  • New deaths (+23, 1,786 total) — Reported deaths above 20 last two days, but “deaths by day of death,” which shows the actual day a COVID-19 patient died, has remained around 6 per day for more than two weeks
  • Hospitalizations (-10, 892 total) — down after spike between Monday and Tuesday, ventilator and ICU usage at all-time lows
  • Testing (percent of positive tests has remained at or just below 6% for about two weeks), +13,587, 655,958 overall — average of tests dipped below 10,000 per day

For the past two days, Hampton Roads’ 7-day average has been above 100, more than 30 cases higher than any high the rest of the pandemic. The increase in cases only materialized in just the past week. The region is now accounting for about a quarter of the commonwealth’s cases on average.

Northern Virginia, the original epicenter of Virginia’s outbreak, is still seeing case numbers drop, but the rest of the state is rising slightly due to growth in cases in Hampton Roads.

The increases in Hampton Roads coincide with large increases in the number of people under the age of 30 contracting the virus, with some localities nearly doubling their percent of cases under 30 in June compared to before June, the Virginia Public Access Project reported Tuesday.

Here’s the latest count by locality:

Though Virginia is doing much better than most states across the country that have seen surges in cases, such as Texas, Arizona and Florida. Neighboring North Carolina continues to report more than 1,000 cases per day.

Texas, Arizona and Florida combined are averaging more cases per day than the entire continent of Europe, with a positivity rate of 24% in Texas. Virginia’s meanwhile has stay around 6% for two weeks despite incremental improvements in overall testing.

Hospitalizations dip after spike

Current COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide decreased by 10 after a spike of more than 100 patients between Monday and Tuesday, an increase not seen since early in the pandemic. Hospitalizations have mostly been trending down overall since late May, and are about half of Virginia’s peak. ICU and ventilator usage also went to all-time lows on Wednesday.

Here’s the latest count for the Tidewater region:

Accomack: 1,043 cases, 72 hospitalized, 14 deaths (+1 case, +1 hospitalized)
Chesapeake: 925 cases, 137 hospitalized, 20 deaths​ (+30 cases, +7 hospitalized)
Franklin: 52 cases, 4 hospitalized, 2 death​s (+1 case, +1 hospitalized)
Gloucester: 49 cases, 9 hospitalized, 1 death​
Hampton: 336 cases, 41 hospitalized, 5 deaths (+8 cases)​
Isle of Wight: 181 cases, 16 hospitalized, 8 deaths​ (+2 cases)
James City County: 265 cases, 58 hospitalized, 15 deaths​ (+2 cases)
Mathews: 6 cases, 2 hospitalized, 0 deaths​
Newport News: 535 cases, 44 hospitalized, 10 deaths​ (+12 cases)
Norfolk: 934 cases, 107 hospitalized, 9 deaths​ (+19 cases, +2 cases)
Northampton: 269 cases, 40 hospitalized, 28 deaths​
Poquoson: 19 cases, 2 hospitalized, 0 death​s
Portsmouth: 497 cases, 69 hospitalized, 16 deaths​ (+5 cases, +1 hospitalized)
Southampton: 157 cases, 8 hospitalized, 5 deaths​ (+1 case, +1 hospitalized, +1 death)
Suffolk: 420 cases, 59 hospitalized, 35 deaths​ (+6 cases, +2 hospitalized, +1 death)
Virginia Beach: 1,203 cases, 119 hospitalized, 29 deaths​ (+27 cases, +1 hospitalized)
Williamsburg: 61 cases, 12 hospitalized, 6 deaths​ (+1 case)
York: 115 cases, 10 hospitalized, 3 deaths​

Key metrics locally:

  • 115 new cases (114 in Hampton Roads)
  • 2 new deaths (Southampton and Suffolk)
  • Southampton had only reported 3 cases since June 11 (on June 24 and 30 and July 1). It’s reported 3 deaths in the past two days, with the last one before that on May 13
  • Suffolk also reported its first death since June 15. The bulk of its deaths were in nursing homes earlier in the pandemic.
  • Though Virginia Beach (3.1%) and Chesapeake (5.4%) continue to report high case numbers compared to the rest of the region, their percent of positive cases remain low. Norfolk’s percent of positive cases has shot back up to 8.7% after going down to 5.1%, but that does come with a decrease in testing, meaning less asymptomatic people are likely being tested.
  • Hampton’s percent of positive tests has actually gone back up even with increased testing. It’s the locality that’s seen this happen.
  • Rising percentage of young people tested positive

For more COVID-19 info from the Virginia Department of Health here.

For more on phase 3 in Virginia, click here.

Latest posts