Virginia Jan. 21 COVID-19 update: 4,013 new cases, 79 new deaths; Northam to speak at 2

Posted: Jan 21, 2021 / 10:14 AM MST

Updated: Jan 21, 2021 / 10:28 AM MST

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia reported 4,013 new cases and 79 new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday ahead of Gov. Ralph Northam’s vaccine briefing at 2 p.m.

Virginia’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are at just over 3,000 patients total currently, with ICU occupancy up to 84% (545 patients). 36,379 patients to date have been discharged from the hospital after having COVID-19. The Virginia Department of Health had reported 4,000-plus hospitalizations on Jan. 17, but the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association said that number was much lower (3,151)

Statewide numbers

New cases: (+4,013, 459,604 total), trending up, at record levels overall (5,966 per day on average)
Case incidence rate: 72.2 per 100K people, trending up, at record levels
New deaths (+79, 5,940 total), trending up overall (45 per day on average)
Current hospitalizations (-90, 3,008 total),
Testing (13.5% 7-day average of positive tests), back down recently, averaging around 34K tests per day
Doses administered (+18,663 today, 360,051 total, 18,740 on average), not updated yet for Thursday
Doses distributed (943,400), no new doses distributed to Virginia this week, not updated yet for Thursday

Vaccine rollout in Virginia (and many other states) as been slow and uncoordinated overall, but is picking up this week with more health districts (Chesapeake, Western Tidewater, etc.) starting 1b vaccinations, along with major private health providers such as Sentara and Riverside.

Vaccine data on the Virginia Department of Health’s website had not updated at the time of publishing.

However Hampton Roads as a whole still isn’t all in the 1b stage, and many long-term care residents and staff have yet to be vaccinated. Virginia health officials say that’s due in part due to the low number of doses coming from the federal government, about 110,000 per week, a number that’s not expected to increase until March.

Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to address the issues during a briefing on Thursday afternoon at 2.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the United States set a national record for COVID-19 deaths with 4,409.

Our daily update is published. States reported 1.8M tests, 186k cases, 122,700 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, and a record 4,409 deaths. pic.twitter.com/5WYUdLQoFw
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) January 21, 2021

Local cases

Cases, deaths and hospitalizations are still on the rise overall in Hampton Roads, though the percentage of positive tests is slightly lower in recent days. Chesapeake has seen a major spike in cases, with 365 now being reported each day.

Accomack: 2,187 cases, 150 hospitalized, 31 deaths (+11 cases)
Chesapeake: 13,055 cases, 685 hospitalized, 116 deaths (+373 cases, +12 hospitalized, +1 death)
Franklin: 776 cases, 42 hospitalized, 20 deaths (+4 cases, + 1 death)
Gloucester: 1,278 cases, 38 hospitalized, 18 deaths (+16 cases, +2 hospitalized, +4 deaths)
Hampton: 6,231 cases, 215 hospitalized, 57 deaths (+137 cases)
Isle of Wight: 1,931 cases, 91 hospitalized, 35 deaths (+20 cases, + 1 death)
James City County: 2,888 cases, 108 hospitalized, 36 deaths (+63 cases, +2 hospitalized)
Mathews: 390 cases, 16 hospitalized, 5 deaths (+3 cases, +1 death)
Newport News: 8,252 cases, 230 hospitalized, 76 deaths (+151 cases, +1 hospitalized)
Norfolk: 11,514 cases, 626 hospitalized, 123 deaths (+122 cases)
Northampton: 575 cases, 61 hospitalized, 32 deaths (+2 cases)
Poquoson: 491 cases, 15 hospitalized, 7 deaths (+2 cases)
Portsmouth: 5,954 cases, 488 hospitalized, 95 deaths (+76 cases,+ 14 hospitalized,+ 1 death)
Southampton: 1,602 cases, 39 hospitalized, 45 deaths (+7 cases)
Suffolk: 5,116 cases, 273 hospitalized, 101 deaths (+86 cases, +1 hospitalized)
Virginia Beach: 23,367 cases, 948 hospitalized, 184 deaths (+293 cases, +42 hospitalized, +4 deaths)
Williamsburg: 411 cases, 23 hospitalized, 8 deaths (-6 case, +1 hospitalized)
York: 2,137 cases, 38 hospitalized, 13 deaths (+38 cases)

Key local metrics

1,404 new cases, trending up
13 new deaths, trending up
+29 current hospitalizations (750 total), trending up overall but back down recently
Test positivity: 17.8%, trending back down slightly

Test positivity (Sunday’s numbers)