Northern Virginia not spared from state’s COVID-19 spike

While D.C. and Maryland’s COVID-19 numbers eased off on Sunday, as they generally do over the weekend, Virginia’s continue to rise, with Sunday setting the second one-day record in a row and third in the past two weeks.

The Virginia Department of Health recorded 3,880 new cases of the virus on Sunday morning, breaking the previous record of 3,793 posted Saturday morning – both well ahead of the previous record of 3,242 posted Thanksgiving Day.

The number of people currently in hospitals in Virginia has also risen to a record 1,969. On Nov. 30, the record was 1,658; it went to 1,757 the next day, and except for a couple of single-digit drops, it’s gone up daily since then.

In Northern Virginia, hospitalizations and deaths have remained relatively stable, but looking at the case rate per 100,000 residents, the region — while staying mostly in or near the statewide average of 32.1 — has seen a spike in the past week.

In Arlington, for example, 152 new cases of the virus were reported for Dec. 6, breaking the previous record of 105 set Dec. 5. The seven-day rolling average has ballooned to 76, and to 32 cases per 100,000 residents, up from 60 and 25.1 Dec. 4. After a gradual rise culminating on Nov. 28 with a case count of 98, an average of 68 and an average rate per 100,000 of 28.6, the numbers had been going down for several days until Saturday. Deaths and hospitalizations, however, remain largely the same.

Other area jurisdictions have seen similar rises, with numbers peaking around Thanksgiving, trailing off for a few days and spiking again in the last two days.

Northern Virginia case rates per 100,000

Alexandria: 29.9
Fairfax City: 5.8
Fairfax County: 29
Falls Church: 17.4
Loudoun County: 21.6
Manassas City: 28.1
Manassas Park City: 24.8
Prince William County: 36.8

You can look at all the local trends on the VDH website.


More Coronavirus News

Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.

Rick Massimo

Rick Massimo came to WTOP, and to Washington, in 2013 after having lived in Providence, R.I., since he was a child. He's the author of "A Walking Tour of the Georgetown Set" and "I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival."

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