PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia’s hospital numbers continue to remain around record levels, including ventilator usage, but there are continued signs that virus levels are dropping again in the commonwealth.
Reported cases have been trending down since peaking at nearly 19,000 per day a week ago, and the percent of tests coming back positive has dropped about 5% since peaking around 36% from two weeks ago.
Ventilator usage however is still at an all time high at 388 patients and only 135 ICU beds are available statewide. Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order on Thursday to help hospitals. The Virginia Hospital and Health Association said “Virginia hospitals have encountered some of the most challenging circumstances seen since the pandemic began. A rapidly escalating surge has led to record-setting hospitalizations that are straining the capacity of the health care delivery system, its staff, and resources. Already weary frontline caregivers are being asked to do more even as the highly-transmissible Omicron variant has caused illness leading to staff shortages that make an existing health care staffing crisis even worse.”
Data continues to show that the vast majority of people being hospitalized and dying of COVID are unvaccinated.
Statewide metrics
- New cases: +14,803 (1,434,686 total), 14,355 on average (highest levels of pandemic but trending back down)
- Deaths: +18 (15,853 total), has been down (10 per day on average now) but VDH says there’s a reporting delay this month as it applies new federal guidelines for COVID-19 associated deaths
- Current hospitalizations: -74 patients (3,868 total currently and 3,871 7-day average, record average) ICU numbers drop (635) from record (676 patients), ventilator usage at new record level (388 patients)
- (1,766 total beds still available statewide, 366 for ICU (adult and pediatric), just 135 adult ICU beds
- Test positivity: 31.6%, has dropped from record of 36% on Jan. 7, was 5-6% in November
- Vaccine doses administered: 14,517,113
- Percent of population with at least one dose: 78.7% (6,715,943)
- Percent of adults (18+) with at least one dose: 89.8%
- Percent of population fully vaccinated: 68.5% (5,845,884)
- Percent of adults fully vaccinated: 78.6%
- People vaccinated with booster/third dose: 2,353,426
Local cases
- Accomack: 6,140 cases, 374 hospitalized, 86 deaths (+45 cases, +2 hospitalized)
- Chesapeake: 44,304 cases, 1,534 hospitalized, 383 deaths (+479 cases, -3 hospitalized)
- Franklin: 2,224 cases, 86 hospitalized, 43 deaths (+19 cases)
- Gloucester: 6,254 cases, 98 hospitalized, 84 deaths (+103 cases, +1 hospitalized)
- Hampton: 24,464 cases, 976 hospitalized, 258 deaths (+315 cases +8 hospitalized)
- Isle of Wight: 6,477 cases, 295 hospitalized, 92 deaths (+91 cases, +1 hospitalized)
- James City County: 12,462 cases, 341 hospitalized, 100 deaths (+164 cases, +6 hospitalized)
- Mathews: 1,267 cases, 31 hospitalized, 24 deaths (+13 cases)
- Newport News: 32,299 cases, 993 hospitalized, 320 deaths (+384 cases, +7 hospitalized)
- Norfolk: 37,390 cases, 1,986 hospitalized, 371 deaths (+462 cases, +1 hospitalized)
- Northampton: 1,785 cases, 122 hospitalized, 51 deaths (+18 cases, +2 hospitalized)
- Poquoson: 2,055 cases, 45 hospitalized, 24 deaths (+28 cases,)
- Portsmouth: 18,841 cases, 1086 hospitalized, 256 deaths (+167 cases, -3 hospitalized)
- Southampton: 2,969 cases, 101 hospitalized, 75 deaths (+25 cases)
- Suffolk: 16,679 cases, 937 hospitalized, 256 deaths (+241 cases, +5 hospitalized)
- Virginia Beach: 79,419 cases, 3,588 hospitalized, 623 deaths (+912 cases, +33 hospitalized, +2 deaths)
- Williamsburg: 1,482 cases, 70 hospitalized, 13 deaths (+6 cases, +2 hospitalized)
- York: 8,514 cases, 173 hospitalized, 87 deaths (+116 cases, +1 hospitalized)