Eighty-three new coronavirus cases and four additional hospitalizations were reported in Arlington overnight.
Despite the dozens of new cases, Arlington’s trailing seven-day case average actually dipped slightly, to just over 60 cases per day. That’s down from the peak of around 75 average daily cases four days ago.
The seven-day hospitalization rate, meanwhile, ticked up by one, to 21. No new COVID-related deaths have been reported over the past week.
Arlington’s test positivity rate, after a big dip, is going back up: as of today it’s 5.5%, according to the Virginia Dept. of Health, up from 4.8% two days ago.
Statewide, the test positivity rate is higher — 8.3% and rising — and hospitalizations continue to increase.
“As the virus has surged throughout the state over the past month, the number of Virginians developing serious enough cases to be hospitalized has surged as well,” InsideNova reported yesterday. “As of Tuesday morning, a record 1,757 people were hospitalized across the state for COVID-19 treatment, according to the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association. That’s up 17% from just a week earlier.”
Amid the pandemic’s fall and winter rise, Arlington County is extending the hours of its Arlington Mill Community Center walk-up testing site along Columbia Pike.
New weekday hours — opening at noon rather than 1 p.m. — go into effect next week. The testing site will also be open this Saturday, and will extend the closing time until 7 p.m. over the next two Mondays.
More from Arlington’s emergency management office, via Twitter:
Starting next week, our COVID-19 sample collection site at Arlington Mill Community Center will open at noon. We're also hosting weekend testing this Saturday, 12/5, from 10am-2pm. While appointments aren't needed, preregistration is encouraged: https://t.co/2RzVfeXAMZ pic.twitter.com/snZSbcjWvs
— Ready Arlington (@ReadyArlington) December 1, 2020