7,697 new COVID-19 cases in state last week; Hampton Roads sees high numbers

Governor says rollback may be in order due to spike in beach area

Published July 27, 2020 by Kate Andrews

Virginia saw a gain of 7,697 COVID-19 cases last week, another gradual increase in the weekly number of new cases. According to the Virginia Department of Health’s statistics Monday, July 23, the state has 86,072 total cases, at a 7.5% positivity rate.

The number of virus-related deaths is at 2,082, up 51 from last week — a slowdown continuing from the previous week, when there were 68 deaths. As in previous weeks, the Hampton Roads area continues to see more new cases than the rest of the state.

Here are the percentages of positive tests in the Eastern region of the state:

Portsmouth: 17.5%
Chesapeake: 13.6%
Norfolk: 13%
Virginia Beach: 11.8%
Western Tidewater: 10.4%
Hampton: 9.6%
Peninsula: 8.7%

In every health district except Portsmouth, which was at 15.9% on July 20, the percentage has gone down since last week. However, Gov. Ralph Northam said that he may roll back reopening guidelines while some localities exceed a 10% positivity rate. He plans to update Virginians on COVID-19 news Tuesday at 2 p.m. on a livestreamed news conference.

Northam previously ordered that health inspectors and Virginia ABC agents conduct unannounced visits to businesses that may be in violation of the state’s mask mandate or social distancing measures. So far, several businesses in Norfolk and Virginia Beach have been shut down. Also, the state has set up a reporting form for anyone to report a violation.

These are the Virginia localities that have seen 400 or more total cases, as of July 27:

Fairfax County: 15,455
Prince William County: 8,580
Loudoun County: 4,914
Chesterfield County: 3,766
Virginia Beach: 3,742
Henrico County: 3,371
Arlington County: 2,823
Norfolk: 2,779
Richmond: 2,762
Alexandria: 2,735
Chesapeake: 2,246
Manassas: 1,575
Newport News: 1,474
Portsmouth: 1,291
Spotsylvania County: 1,244
Stafford County: 1,202
Accomack County: 1,065
Harrisonburg: 1,028
Suffolk: 948
Hampton: 916
Culpeper County: 926
Rockingham County: 860
Roanoke: 737
Albemarle County: 718
Shenandoah County: 660
Frederick County: 639
Buckingham County: 592
Hanover County: 575
Fauquier County: 567
James City County: 510
Manassas Park: 486
Henry County: 434
Charlottesville: 433
Greensville County: 406
Roanoke County: 405
Petersburg: 404

Globally, there are 16.2 million reported COVID-19 cases and 648,966 confirmed deaths as of July 27. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 4.23 million confirmed cases so far, with 146,968 deaths nationwide attributed to the coronavirus since February.

Below is the latest data from VDH: