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Arlington is now reporting more than 100 Covid cases per day

Covid cases in Arlington as of 4/22/22 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)

(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) The number of daily Covid cases in Arlington now stands at an average of just over 100 per day for the first time since February.

Arlington crossed the 100 daily case mark on Thursday, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. The county remains in the CDC’s “Medium” Covid level due to the elevated case counts, though hospitalizations remain low — fewer than two per week per 100,000 in population, per the CDC.

Last week county officials blamed Arlington’s “Medium” Covid level on a number of factors, including increased testing before the start of spring break and delayed reporting of test results.

Despite the minor milestone, Covid cases have only risen modestly over the past couple of weeks; VDH reported about 90 daily cases on April 9.

Arlington Public Schools, which was back in session this week after the past week’s spring break, has reported 198 student cases over the course of the week. APS encouraged — but did not require — “precautionary at-home testing” using school-provided rapid tests, prior to students returning to classrooms.

There is some evidence, meanwhile, that there may be significantly more Covid cases than are being reported by the state health department, due to the proliferation of at-home testing.

Wastewater data in Arlington, last sampled on April 13, shows the level of Covid detected in the county’s sewage rising quickly since the end of March.

Wastewater Covid detection levels in Arlington (via Biobot)

Similarly, the test positivity rate in Arlington has seemingly outpaced the rate of new cases. The positivity rate currently stands at just under 12%, from a low of 2.7% in mid-March.

Arlington test positivity rate on 4/22/22 (via VDH)

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