COVID-19 cases in Virginia increase by 2,850 on Wednesday

Due to the number of vaccinations in our region, we will no longer update the COVID-19 hotline.

As of Wednesday, December 8, Virginia had recorded a total of 988,147 cases of COVID-19, including confirmed lab tests and clinical diagnoses, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The Virginia Department of Health reports an 8.0% 7-day positivity rate for the total number of tests and a 7.7% 7-day positivity rate for PCR tests.

Additional deaths were reported on Wednesday, leaving the death toll at 14,838.

For a full summary of COVID-19 cases and tests in Virginia, you can visit the Virginia Department of Health website and view their COVID-19 Dashboard.

On Sunday April 18, vaccine eligibility was extended to all Commonwealth people aged 16 and over.

Thursday April 22, Governor Northam announced an easing of some of the COVID-19 restrictions for social gatherings which started on Saturday May 15:

• Social gatherings: The maximum number of people allowed in a social gathering will increase to 100 people for indoor settings and 250 people for outdoor settings. Social gatherings are currently limited to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
• Places of entertainment: Indoor entertainment venues and public amusements will be able to operate at 50 percent of capacity or 1,000 people, compared to 30 percent of capacity or 500 people. External sites will be able to operate at 50% of their capacity – against 30% – without a specific limit on the number of participants.
• Recreational sporting events: The number of spectators allowed at indoor recreational sporting events will increase from 100 to 250 spectators or 50% of capacity, whichever is less. Outdoor recreational sporting events will increase from 500 to 1,000 people or 50% of capacity, whichever is less.
• Alcohol sales: Restaurants may resume selling alcohol after midnight, and dining room closures will no longer be required between midnight and 5:00 a.m.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday, May 13 people who have been vaccinated are no longer required to wear a mask in most cases. On Friday May 14, Governor Ralph Northam announced the mask’s mandate in Virginia would be lifted and capacity and social distancing restrictions end on May 28.

As of December 8, the Virginia Department of Health had received reports of 727,071 confirmed cases and 261,076 probable cases of COVID-19 across the Commonwealth.

These positive test results are out of a total of 14,978,310 tests administered in Virginia, which included 10,641,747 PCR tests, 304,557 antibody tests and 4,032,006 antigen tests.

At this point, 40,186 Virginians have been hospitalized due to illness caused by the virus, and at least 14,838 have died from causes related to the illness.

Here is a breakdown of cases for our region as of December 8 at 10:00 a.m.

Central Shenandoah Health District: 43,096 cases in total

• Augusta County – 10,897

• Bath County – 527

• Buena Vista – 1,449

• Harrisonbourg – 8,597

• Highland County – 198

• Lexington – 1647

• Rockbridge County – 2,315

• Rockingham County – 10,004

• Staunton – 3,619

• Waynesboro – 3,843

Outbreaks: 167, including 51 in long-term care facilities, 11 in health facilities, 65 in collective facilities, 7 in correctional facilities, 20 in college / university facilities, 5 in daycare and 8 in kindergarten to grade 12 schools.

Total Tests: 595,532

Lord Fairfax Health District: 34,787 cases in total

• Clarke County – 1,577

• Frederick County – 12,880

• Page County – 3,692

• Shenandoah County – 7,110

• Warren County – 5,599

• Winchester – 3,929

Outbreaks: 170, including 73 in long-term care facilities, 14 in health facilities, 50 in collective facilities, 8 in correctional facilities, 6 in college / university facilities, 14 in kindergarten to kindergarten to grade 12 and 5 in child care facilities.

Total tests: 409,397

The Virginia Department of Health has launched a data dashboard showing the number of COVID-19 vaccines that have been distributed and administered throughout the republic.

According to the data dashboard, as of December 8, 6,404,133 people had been vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 5,621,057 people were fully vaccinated.

15,292,245 total doses of vaccine were distributed statewide.

Virginia Hospital and Health Care Association online dashboard indicates that as of December 8, at least 74,812 COVID-19 patients were discharged from the hospital.

Unlike VDH data which reports cumulative hospitalizations, their hospitalization data reflects people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 (whether confirmed or pending), and that number is 1,208.

Here at WHSV, we cover Grant County, Hardy County and Pendleton County. The information below is the most recent data from each county’s health department. You can find West Virginia’s COVID-19 dashboard here.

There were a total of 303,173 cases in West Virginia as of December 8.

Grant County: 2,521 COVID-19 cases in total

Hardy County: 2,753 COVID-19 cases in total

Pendleton County: 1,268 COVID-19 cases in total

For the latest factual information on COVID-19, we encourage you to check both the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC.

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