Nearly one-third of all COVID-19 deaths in Page County reported since Labor Day

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, Nov. 29 — Despite reporting fewer new cases of COVID-19 over the past week, Page County still saw a rising positivity rate and reported three more deaths related to virus, bringing the county’s pandemic death toll to 88. Nearly one-third of all COVID-19 deaths in Page County (27) have been reported since Labor Day, and the vast majority of those deaths (23) — or 26 percent of the total pandemic deaths in the county — have been reported in the last eight weeks.

The Virginia Department of Health has reported 56 new cases of COVID-19 in Page County since Nov. 22, including 25 cases over the weekend. A total of 64 cases were reported the previous week, as the weekly case count continues to fluctuate as it has for several weeks. There have been a total of 3,596 cases of coronavirus reported in the county since March 31, 2020.

Page County’s positivity rate has risen for a second-straight week to 14.4 percent as of Monday, up from 10.3 percent a week ago. The current rate is the highest since late October.

Among Page County’s three deaths this past week, one was reported on Tuesday and two over the weekend. There have been 11 pandemic deaths reported in November, after the county saw 12 in October. The county also reported five hospitalizations due to the virus over the last seven days.

Page County Public Schools has reported 246 cases of COVID-19 within its buildings since opening on Aug. 23, (only three cases reported since last Monday). Of those cases, 12 are still active (as of Nov. 29) with nine cases among students and three among staff.

The Lord Fairfax Health District has reported 550 new cases of COVID-19 over the last seven days — down from 620 cases the previous week. Three jurisdictions within the health district showed decreases this past week, while three showed increases. Below is a breakdown of new cases reported since Nov. 22 and each localities’ positivity rate within the health district:

• 235 — Frederick County — 12.0%

• 106 — Warren County — 15.0%

• 98 — Shenandoah County — 11.6%

• 56 — Page County — 14.4%

• 28 — Clarke County — 13.4%

• 27 — City of Winchester — 8.0%

The health district reported 20 hospitalizations related to COVID over the past seven days (15 previous week) and 13 related deaths (14 previous week). Shenandoah County reported six virus-related deaths this past week, while Frederick and Page counties both saw three and Clarke County had one. Clarke has seen its worst wave of the pandemic after an outbreak at Rose Hill Health and Rehab in Berryville earlier this month.

Over the past week, Virginia has averaged 1,377 new cases of COVID-19 per day — down from 1,644 the previous week. Statewide hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have risen a second-straight week to 936 — up from 846 last Monday. Currently, 241 patients are in intensive care being treated for COVID (up 26), with 116 on ventilators.

Virginia’s seven-day positivity rate also rose slightly for a second week to 6.1 percent, after being reported at 5.9 percent last Monday.

Virginia reported 136 deaths related to COVID-19 over the past week (156 last week and 202 the week prior) — an average of nearly 20 per day. The commonwealth has reported a total of 14,684 deaths from COVID-19 since March 14, 2020.

A total of 445 COVID-19 vaccinations were administered in Page County over the past week — down from 550 the previous week. As of Monday’s report by VDH, a cumulative total of 23,647 vaccinations have been given locally, with 11,627 people in the county receiving at least one dose and 10,663 fully vaccinated (or 44.6 percent of the population). A total of 2,365 in the county have received a third shot or booster for the COVID-19 vaccine (12.3 percent of the adult population in the county). The majority of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in Page County over the past week (289) were booster shots.

Statewide, Virginia has administered nearly 12.7 million doses of vaccine, with 6.3 million receiving at least one dose and 5.5 million individuals, or 77 percent of the adult population, being fully vaccinated. More than 1.2 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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