By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Aug. 23 — The Virginia Department of Health reported 54 new cases of COVID-19 in Page County over the past week. That marks a third-consecutive week of increases after the county started off August averaging 22 cases per week. In early July, those figures were in single digits.
Those new cases are generally spread out across the county, but proportionally the southern end of the county has more than its fair share, according to zip code data provided by the VDH:
• 22 cases — 22849 zip code (Shenandoah area);
• 21 cases — 22835 zip code (Luray area);
• 10 cases — 22851 zip code (Stanley area);
• 1 case — 22650 zip code (Rileyville area).
In the last 10 days (since Aug. 13), the Shenandoah area — those in the 22849 zip code — have seen 33 new cases of the novel coronavirus.
Page’s positivity rate currently stands at 10.7 percent — down slightly from last Monday’s 11.2 percent. However, Page County remains the only locality within the Lord Fairfax Health District with a positivity rate in double digits.
The Lord Fairfax Health District reported 527 new cases of COVID-19 over the past week, up from 467 the previous week, 382 the week prior, and 184 the week before that. Below is a breakdown of new cases reported in the last week and each locality’s current positivity rate within the health district:
• 197 — Frederick County — 6.8%
• 121 — Shenandoah County — 7.6%
• 84 — Warren County — 8.6%
• 54 — Page County — 10.7%
• 42 — City of Winchester — 8.7%
• 29 — Clarke County — 3.8%
The health district reported 11 hospitalizations related to COVID over the past week, and two related deaths — one in Frederick County on Thursday, and one in Shenandoah County over the weekend. Page County did not report a hospitalization last week and has not reported a pandemic fatality since July 30.
Over the past week, Virginia has averaged 2,490 new cases of COVID-19 per day — the highest average since early- to mid-February. Statewide hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have risen to 1,364 — a 20-percent increase over the past week. Currently, 281 patients are in intensive care being treated for COVID — a 29.2-percent rise in the last seven days.
Virginia reported 57 deaths related to the virus over the past week — up from 47 deaths last week and 37 the previous week. The commonwealth has reported a total of 11,675 deaths from COVID-19 since March 14, 2020.
A total of 226 COVID-19 vaccinations were administered in Page County over the past week — up from 210 the previous week. The number of local residents receiving at least one dose climbed by 133 in the last seven days (132 the previous week), and the number of fully vaccinated residents increased by 102 (up from 87 the previous week). As of Monday’s report by VDH, a cumulative total of 18,184 vaccinations have been given locally, with 9,954 people in the county receiving at least one dose (41.6 percent of the population and 50 percent of adults) and 8,997 fully vaccinated (37.6 percent of the population and 45.4 percent of adults).
Statewide, Virginia has administered 9.8 million doses of vaccine, with nearly 5.4 million receiving at least one dose and nearly 4.8 million individuals, or 67 percent of the adult population, being fully vaccinated.
Virginia’s seven-day positivity rate is currently 9.1 percent — the highest rate since mid-February and up from 8.2 percent last Monday. The commonwealth’s positivity rate has been consistently climbing about one point per week since early July.
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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