ICU Occupancy, Coronavirus Positivity Rates Climb In VA

VIRGINIA — The positivity rate for coronavirus tests in Virginia has climbed to nearly 15 percent as of Saturday, according to the Virginia Department of Health, as the number of people hospitalized for the COVID-19 respiratory disease hovers under 3,000 a day and intensive care units fill.

As 2020 ground to an end, Virginia set a record as coronavirus cases topped 5,000 cases in a day on Thursday, and the state confirmed 5,032 deaths from COVID-19. On Saturday, 3,989 new cases of coronavirus were reported.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Saturday reminded the public to take precautions as the vaccine rolls out across the state. "New year, same virus — but this year we will beat it, together. Virginia, you know what to do. Let’s all be responsible and stay vigilant until the vaccine is widely available," the governor tweeted.

The state noted a single-day record of 5,239 new COVID-19 cases, passing the previous high of 4,782 cases in 24 hours set on Christmas Eve, Inside NOVA reported.

The statewide seven-day average of positive PCR tests was 13.2 percent as of Dec. 31 and up to 14.8 percent on Jan. 2.

A total of 358,755 coronavirus cases have been reported in the state; 18,240 hospitalizations have been recorded as of Saturday. To date, a total of 5,117 deaths have been caused by COVID-19.

Death data is available as both the date of report and by date of death and are updated as amendments to the death records as they are received by VDH.

According to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, 2,710 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Saturday; 335 patients are on a ventilator. To date 31,182 confirmed COVID cases have been treated and discharged from the state's hospitals.

Ventilator use among all hospital patients is at 33 percent capacity, with 993 of the 3,013 available in use. ICU occupancy is at 80 percent.

As of Saturday, 81,770 vaccine doses have been administered in Virginia, up from 64,882 doses as of Thursday, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The agency is tracking COVID-19 vaccination numbers as vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are being distributed around the state under Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization. No one has received the second dose, which both Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines require. Pfizer's doses should be taken 21 days apart, and Moderna's doses should be 28 days apart. To date, 227,425 vaccine doses have been distributed around Virginia.

Below are the latest coronavirus data updates for our coverage area from Thursday to Saturday:

• Alexandria: 7,372 cases, 436 hospitalizations, 88 deaths; increase of 74 cases, six hospitalizations, one death
• Arlington County: 9,145 cases, 666 hospitalizations, 181 deaths; increase of 273 cases, 10 hospitalizations, one death
• Fairfax County: 45,157 cases, 2,974 hospitalizations, 685 deaths; increase of 1,180 cases, 32 hospitalizations, six deaths
• Fairfax City: 305 cases, 26 hospitalizations, 10 deaths; increase of two cases
• Falls Church: 182 176 cases, 18 hospitalizations, six deaths; increase of six cases, one hospitalization
• Loudoun County: 14,481 cases, 655 hospitalizations, 161 deaths; increase of 312 cases, two hospitalizations and two deaths
• Manassas: 2,945 cases, 147 hospitalizations, 29 deaths; increase of 58 cases
• Manassas Park: 944 cases, 65 hospitalizations, eight deaths; increase of 13 cases
• Prince William County: 26,178 cases, 1,225 hospitalizations, 262 deaths; increase of 659 cases, three hospitalizations and two deaths
• Fredericksburg: 1,059 cases, 67 hospitalizations, 11 deaths; increase of 104 cases, two hospitalizations, two deaths
• Spotsylvania County: 4,901 cases, 212 hospitalizations, 67 deaths; increase of 119 cases, one hospitalization
• Stafford County: 5,387 cases, 231 hospitalizations, 25 deaths; increase of 166 cases, six hospitalizations, one death