By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Jan. 16 — The Virginia Department of Health reported a record-high 6,757 new cases of COVID-19 across the state on Saturday, shattering the previous record of 5,798 set just one week ago.
Virginia had shown signs of slowing down, as both the case count and the seven-day positivity rate had declined for five consecutive days prior to Saturday’s spike. However, while the number of new cases surged, the state’s positivity rate fell for a sixth straight day and currently stands at 14.7 percent.
Page County saw its third-highest daily case count of the pandemic on Saturday with 35 new cases of coronavirus being reported overnight. The county also reported a new hospitalization, and its 36th fatality from COVID-19.
According to ZIP code data provided by VDH, the new cases of COVID-19 reported on Saturday in Page County surfaced in the following areas (ZIP code data totals do not always match the county’s daily reports – see details about this on the VDH ZIP code page link above):
• 15 cases — Luray area (22835);
• 12 cases — Stanley area (22851);
• 5 cases — Shenandoah area (22849);
• 1 case — Rilleyville area (22650).
Page County’s seven-day positivity rate currently stands at 21.5 percent, according to Daily Locality Metrics data provided on the VDH website — down four-tenths of a percent from yesterday, but nearly a full point higher than Tuesday.
The Lord Fairfax Health District reported 208 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, marking only the fifth time during the pandemic that the district has seen more than 200 new cases reported in a single day. Among Saturday’s cases, Frederick County accounted for 77, Shenandoah County reported 41, Page had 35, Winchester saw 25, Warren County had 17 and Clarke reported 13.
The health district reported five new hospitalizations on Saturday, with two in Frederick and one each in Winchester, Clarke and Page. The district also saw three new fatalities to the pandemic. Shenandoah County reported its 81st death due to COVID-19 on Saturday, while Page saw its 36th and Winchester reported its 19th.
A cumulative breakdown by jurisdiction of the health district’s 12,941 reported cases, 562 hospitalizations and 216 deaths is as follows (hospitalizations – deaths):
- 4,738 — Frederick County (157-37)
- 2,797 — Shenandoah County (150-81)
- 1,928 — City of Winchester (82-19)
- 1,650 — Warren County (71-36)
- 1,324 — Page County (79-36)
- 504 — Clarke County (23-7)
On Saturday, Harrisonburg reported 29 new cases of COVID-19, two hospitalizations and two deaths — the city’s 51st and 52nd of the pandemic. Rockingham County reported 62 new cases, four hospitalizations and four deaths. The county’s death toll is now 62.
Statewide hospitalizations for COVID-19 are at 3,119, according to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association. That marks a decline of 90 from Wednesday’s record-high of 3,209.
Among those patients, 561 are being treated in intensive care units — down 19 from yesterday. Among those, 354 are currently on ventilators — down eight since yesterday.
As of Saturday morning, 263,143 people in Virginia had been vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, among the 943,400 doses (including Moderna and Pfizer vaccines) that have been distributed to facilities and agencies across the state. A total of 32,059 people in Virginia have been fully vaccinated.
Here’s a breakdown of vaccine doses administered and those who have been fully vaccinated (two doses) across the Lord Fairfax Health District as of Saturday’s report:
• 4,388 doses administered, 795 fully vaccinated — City of Winchester;
• 3,669 doses administered, 664 fully vaccinated — Frederick County;
• 2,410 doses administered, 250 fully vaccinated — Shenandoah County;
• 1,518 doses administered, 195 fully vaccinated — Warren County;
• 1,167 doses administered, 82 fully vaccinated — Clarke County;
• 827 doses administered, 93 fully vaccinated — Page County.
The state health department reported 50 new deaths related to COVID-19 on Saturday. A total of 5,706 people statewide have died from COVID-19 since March 14.
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