COVID-19 cases reach 890 on Sunday; 22 deaths in Virginia

Increase of 151 positive tests, VDH reports

Published March 29, 2020 by Kate Andrews

Virginia now has 890 COVID-19 cases, the Virginia Department of Health reported Sunday in its 9 a.m. website update. Twenty-two people are reported dead from causes related to the virus, and there are 112 people hospitalized with symptoms, and 10,609 people have been tested.

The number of positive cases jumped 151 from Saturday’s update of 739 positive tests. As more tests become available, officials say the number of positives are likely to grow, but Dr. Danny Avula, director of the Richmond and Henrico County health departments, warned Friday that the number of cases in Virginia may jump tenfold in the next week and a half if the state follows trends in Michigan, Illinois and Louisiana, which have seen their numbers explode into the thousands this week.

On Saturday, three health districts announced the first deaths in their regions related to COVID-19:

In Alleghany Health District, a woman in her 80s died from COVID-19 causes. The district includes Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig and Roanoke counties and the cities of Covington and Salem. The city of Roanoke has its own health district.

In Crater Health District reported its first death related to the virus, providing no other information about the patient to protect confidentiality. Crater covers Dinwiddie, Greensville, Prince George, Surry and Sussex counties and the cities of Emporia, Hopewell and Petersburg.

The Western Tidewater Health District reported that a man in his 60s with underlying health issues died in a local hospital of respiratory failure due to COVID-19. The Western Tidewater district covers the cities of Suffolk and Franklin, as well as Isle of Wight and Southampton counties.

Fairfax County continues to have the most positive cases at 187 as of Sunday, although the county health department has announced only two deaths related to the virus since the outbreak. Arlington has 84 confirmed cases, the second highest in the state.

This story will be updated during the day.