(Updated at 10:30 a.m.) The total reported coronavirus cases in Arlington are now one shy of 1,500, while statewide data shows a mixed picture one day ahead of a partial reopening of the Commonwealth.
The latest Virginia Dept. of Health data shows 1,499 cases, 305 hospitalizations and 70 deaths in the county. That’s a one-day increase of 39 cases, 5 hospitalizations and 1 death.
Statewide, VDH reports 27,813 cases, 3,592 hospitalizations and 955 deaths. The state health department also has released some new data showing testing and hospital-related statistics.
On the testing front, Virginia has come in for criticism over the past week for a relatively low testing rate, a relatively high test positivity rate, and for mixing diagnostic and serological tests in its reporting. Today, the health department broke out its testing data to show just diagnostic testing, which account for 169,340 test results compared to about 15,000 serological test results in the aggregate testing number.
The current stats from VDH show an increasing rate of testing and decreasing rate of test positivity.
For Virginia’s hospitals, the statistics show the number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients holding relatively steady over the past month, with just over 1,533 hospitalized as of today.
On the plus side, it has been two weeks since a Virginia hospital has reported difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment for its staff.
The number of reported outbreaks in Arlington is holding steady at 12, but outbreaks in long-term care facilities remain a concern.
In addition to a sizable reported outbreak at Regency Care of Arlington in Pentagon City, Brookdale Senior Living in Virginia Square has one of the county’s larger outbreaks. As of Friday, Brookdale told families that it has 31 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 9 coronavirus-related resident fatalities.
Another senior facility, Sunrise at Bluemont Park, told families on Monday that it has no COVID-19 cases among residents, but two among staff.
Sunrise said in the email that it’s working to prevent the spread of disease by delivering meals and activities to resident’s rooms, testing residents and staff twice a day for fevers and COVID-19 symptoms, providing personal protective equipment for residents and staff, and prohibiting all visitors “except for those professionals necessary to provide critical resident care.”