Virginia sees 136 COVID-19 deaths last week, higher than previous weeks

Number of new cases is slightly down, with 7,034 recorded last week.

Published August 3, 2020 by Kate Andrews

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Virginia went up by 7,034 last week, a decrease from the previous week, but the number of new virus-related deaths rose by 136, a higher rate than in recent weeks.

The Virginia Department of Health reported Monday, Aug. 3 that there are 93,106 coronavirus cases statewide and 2,218 deaths, with a positivity rate of 7.1%, down from 7.5% July 27. As reported previously, people between the ages of 20 and 29 are now the most-affected group, although most people who die from the coronavirus are older.

Positivity rates are still high in communities in the Eastern region of the state, where Gov. Ralph Northam placed additional restrictions on restaurants and prohibited gatherings of more than 50 people last week. Here are the most current rates, with comparisons to rates from July 27:

Portsmouth: 17.8% (up .3%)
Chesapeake: 13.9% (up .3%)
Western Tidewater: 12.1% (up 1.7%)
Norfolk: 11.6% (down 1.4%)
Virginia Beach: 9.8% (down 2%)
Hampton: 9.0% (down .6%)
Peninsula: 6.3% (down 2.4%)

Southern Virginia communities also are exceeding the 10% positivity rate, which Northam and other officials say is a signal for more public safety restrictions:

Pittsylvania-Danville: 11.3%
West Piedmont (Martinsville and Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties): 15.6%

These are the Virginia localities that have seen 400 or more total cases, as of Aug. 3:

Fairfax County: 15,907
Prince William County: 8,988
Loudoun County: 5,059
Virginia Beach: 4,427
Chesterfield County: 4,097
Henrico County: 3,654
Norfolk: 3,345
Richmond: 2,992
Arlington County: 2,945
Alexandria: 2,844
Chesapeake: 2,617
Newport News: 1,671
Manassas: 1,612
Portsmouth: 1,540
Spotsylvania County: 1,357
Stafford County: 1,283
Suffolk: 1,112
Accomack County: 1,080
Hampton: 1,070
Harrisonburg: 1,055
Culpeper County: 926
Roanoke: 909
Rockingham County: 908
Albemarle County: 775
Shenandoah County: 681
Frederick County: 670
Hanover County: 597
Buckingham County: 596
Fauquier County: 567
Henry County: 511
James City County: 510
Manassas Park: 500
Charlottesville: 495
Petersburg: 473
Lynchburg: 469
Roanoke County: 456
Greensville County: 437

Globally, there are 18.1 million reported COVID-19 cases and 690,055 confirmed deaths as of Aug. 3. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 4.66 million confirmed cases so far, with 154,861 deaths nationwide attributed to the coronavirus since February.

Below is the latest data from VDH: