COVID trending down, Page still reports 196 cases and 2 deaths

Page County Map COVID High Transmission Rate — Page Valley News will have continuing coverage of the Coronavirus' impact on Page County.

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, Jan. 31 — The data related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is trending down, from new cases being reported each day across the state to positivity rates around the region. However, as a reminder of the ongoing battle with the virus, Page County reported two more COVID-related deaths this past week — the 96th and 97th fatalities in the county since the virus was first reported here on March 31, 2020.

New cases of the Omicron variant surged in mid-January, peaking between Jan. 11-17 in Page County when 304 new cases were reported. The following week 263 new cases were reported. Over the past seven days, the Virginia Department of Health has reported 196 new cases. Over the last three weeks, the daily average for new cases has fallen from more than 43, down to 28 — a 35-percent reduction.

Zip code data provided by VDH shows the following breakdown for new coronavirus cases reported in the county over the past seven days:

92 cases — Luray area (22835)
53 cases — Shenandoah area (22849)
49 cases — Stanley area (22851)
1 case — Rileyville area (22650)

For the first time in five weeks, Page County’s seven-day positivity rate showed a decline and is currently 34.8 percent (as of Jan. 31). The rate fell nearly 9 percent from last Monday’s record-high of 43.5 percent. Prior to this winter’s Omicron surge, Page’s positivity rate had not exceeded 23 percent since the pandemic began.

The county reported no hospitalizations due to the virus this past week, but two COVID-related deaths — one last Tuesday and one this morning (Monday).

The Lord Fairfax Health District reported 1,683 new cases of COVID-19 over the last seven days, down from 2,218 the previous week and 3,554 three weeks ago when the health district hit its peak. Every locality within the health district reported fewer new cases this week, while Clarke County was the only one to show a slight increase in its positivity rate. Below is a breakdown of new cases reported since Jan. 24 and each localities’ positivity rate within the health district (as of Monday, Jan.31):

• 636 — Frederick County — 28.3%

• 338 — Shenandoah County — 33.3%

• 215 — Warren County — 25.7%

• 196 — Page County — 34.8%

• 190 — City of Winchester — 27.7%

• 108 — Clarke County — 32.2%

The health district reported 15 hospitalizations related to COVID over the past seven days (25 the previous week) and 20 related deaths (13 last week). Warren County reported six of those COVID-related deaths, while Frederick County had five. Shenandoah County saw three, while Clarke and Page counties and the City of Winchester each reported two.

Over the past week, Virginia has averaged 9,194 new cases of COVID-19 per day — down nearly 24 percent from 12,020 the previous week. The week prior to that Virginia peaked at a daily average of 16,917, and set a new record-high on Jan. 8 of 26,175 new cases reported in a single day.

Statewide hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have fallen to 2,896 after peaking at 3,948 on Jan. 18. Currently, 512 patients are in intensive care being treated for COVID, with 349 on ventilators.

Virginia’s seven-day positivity rate fell for a third-straight week and sits at 25.5 percent (as of Jan. 31). The rate has slowly climbed down from the commonwealth’s pandemic high of 35.6 percent. Last Monday, the rate stood at 29.8 percent. During last winter’s surge, Virginia’s positivity peaked at 16.8 percent on Jan. 10, 2021. During the Delta surge in September, the state reached only 10.9 percent positivity.

Virginia reported 269 deaths related to COVID-19 over the past seven days, double last week’s death toll of 134. The commonwealth has reported a total of 16,217 deaths from COVID-19 since March 14, 2020.

A total of 217 COVID-19 vaccinations were administered in Page County over the past week — down from 235 the previous week and 388 the week prior to that. As of Monday’s report by VDH, a cumulative total of 27,440 vaccinations have been given locally, with 12,376 people in the county receiving at least one dose and 11,246 fully vaccinated (or 47.1 percent of the population). A total of 4,682 in the county have received a third shot or booster for the COVID-19 vaccine (24.1 percent of the adult population in the county).

Statewide, Virginia has administered about 14.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with about 6.7 million receiving at least one dose and 5.9 million individuals, or 78.8 percent of the adult population, being fully vaccinated. About 2.4 million Virginians have received a third “booster” dose of the vaccine.

Unvaccinated individuals and those who are not fully vaccinated should continue wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces in accordance with federal CDC guidance.

Vaccines are available by pre-registration and appointment. To pre-register, or to update your pre-registration record, visit www.vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682). English- and Spanish-speaking operators are available. Translation services also are available, in more than 100 languages. For TTY, dial 7-1-1.

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