(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.
From @johnbrownstein, evidence that a lot of testing has shifted to at home tests
In turn, ascertainment of positive covid cases has declined
Official cases are undercounting actual infections by wider margin than any point since perhaps late 2020, when testing first ramped up https://t.co/K3Q4hsDJYb
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) April 22, 2022
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.
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.
