After a steady decline through early May, the spread of COVID-19 in Virginia has been increasing again in recent months, with diagnoses up 128% compared to the same time last year, according to state data.
Experts are recommending that people get vaccinated with the new vaccine, which should be available within the next few weeks.
A Virginia Department of Health spokesperson said 3% of emergency room visits in the week ending Aug. 10 were patients diagnosed with COVID-19. State health officials are also monitoring wastewater to look for the spread of coronavirus, and activity is seen as “very high” in Virginia and nationally.
VDH spokesman Logan Anderson said the wastewater data is useful to experts because it has no bearing on whether the public decides to get tested or seek medical care.
“The very high concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater mean that many people are infected with COVID-19 but will likely have mild symptoms and be able to recover at home,” Anderson said in an email.
Anderson added that in line with COVID-19's seasonal pattern, experts expect the virus to peak in late summer, then worsen again in mid-winter, before peaking again around the new year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending everyone 6 months of age or older get the 2024-25 coronavirus vaccine, which is expected to be available in mid- to late September. This latest shot is designed to target the KP.2 variant, which Anderson said was causing about 4% of COVID-19 infections as of March but is expected to become the most common variant by May and remain that way through this fall and winter.
“Stay home if you feel sick and wait for at least 24 hours until your symptoms have improved and you've been fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications before returning to your normal activities,” Anderson says. “If you have the flu or COVID-19, talk to your healthcare provider to see if antiviral treatment is right for you.”
COVID-19 deaths in the week ending Aug. 10 were 1.7% of the total for January 2021, according to the CDC.
The coronavirus hospitalization rate for all age groups dropped from about 4 per 100,000 people in mid-March to about 0.4 per 100,000 people in mid-May. It has since risen slowly to just over 2 per 100,000 people as of the week ending Aug. 10, according to VDH.
Hospitalizations for the week ending Aug. 10 were up 10.4% from the previous week. Over the past six months, Virginia's COVID-19 death toll peaked the week ending March 16, with 24 deaths. The low was the week ending June 29, with one death. Deaths then spiked again the week of July 20, with 14 deaths, and five deaths by August 3.
Over the past six months, the percentage of inpatient beds being used by COVID-19 patients has reached a new peak, but is still considered low by VDH. Since a low of 0.42% the week ending June 1, the percentage of hospital beds being used by COVID-19 patients has risen to 2.23% the week ending Aug. 10. The peak before June 1 was 1.6%, which is 18.6% higher than the previous week.
Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, [email protected]
