Virginia sees fewer new COVID-19 deaths and cases last week

Conditions improving in some Hampton Roads localities

Published August 17, 2020 by Kate Andrews

The state has reported 107,421 COVID-19 cases as of Aug. 17, an increase of 6,672 since last Monday, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The state recorded 58 deaths last week, bringing the total number of coronavirus fatalities to 2,385.

These are improvements from the previous week, which saw 7,643 new cases and 109 deaths.

Statewide, the seven-day positivity rate is at 7.0%, an improvement from Aug. 10, which saw a 7.4% rate.

Some communities in the Eastern, Southern and Southwest regions of the state still have higher percentages than the state average. Earlier this month, Gov. Ralph Northam placed restrictions on Hampton Roads localities, limiting alcohol sales to 10 p.m. and not allowing gatherings of more than 50 people.

Here are the health districts statewide with higher than 10% positivity rates:

Chesapeake: 11.3% (down from 12% Aug. 10)
Lenowisco (Lee, Scott and Wise counties and city of Norton): 15.4% (up from 13.7%)
Pittsylvania-Danville: 12.9% (down from 15%)
Portsmouth: 12.0% (down from 13.3%)
West Piedmont (Martinsville and Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties): 17.7% (up from 14.7%)
Western Tidewater (Isle of Wight and Southampton counties, cities of Franklin and Suffolk): 12.8% (down from 14%)

These are the Virginia localities that have seen 400 or more total cases, as of Aug. 17:

Fairfax County: 17,070
Prince William County: 9,924
Loudoun County: 5,528
Virginia Beach: 5,444
Chesterfield County: 4,623
Henrico County: 4,149
Norfolk: 4,002
Richmond: 3,404
Chesapeake: 3,303
Arlington County: 3,246
Alexandria: 3,130
Portsmouth: 1,995
Newport News: 1,993
Manassas: 1,716
Spotsylvania County: 1,621
Stafford County: 1,506
Suffolk: 1,438
Hampton: 1,349
Accomack County: 1,127
Harrisonburg: 1,106
Roanoke: 1,082
Culpeper County: 1,041
Rockingham County: 979
Albemarle County: 913
Shenandoah County: 743
Lynchburg: 735
Hanover County: 703
Frederick County: 701
Henry County: 672
James City County: 651
Fauquier County: 642
Buckingham County: 620
Greensville County: 572
Pittsylvania County: 571
Charlottesville: 560
Petersburg: 544
Roanoke County: 522
Manassas Park: 515
Danville: 477
Mecklenburg County: 459
Prince Edward County: 449
Isle of Wight County: 437
Winchester: 421
Bedford County: 418
Fredericksburg: 406

Globally, there are 21.7 million reported COVID-19 cases and 776,157 confirmed deaths as of Aug. 17. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 5.4 million confirmed cases so far, with 170,131 deaths nationwide attributed to the coronavirus since February.

Below is the latest data from VDH: