Arlington Nears 3,000 Coronavirus Cases

Arlington is now just three shy of 3,000 coronavirus cases, as the rate of new cases continues to climb.

The county added 24 new cases overnight, bringing the cumulative total to 2,997. The number of new cases has been above the seven-day moving average — which now stands at 20 cases per day, or 140 per week, the highest point since June 11 — five out of the past six days.

The growth in cases is being monitored by Arlington’s public health office.

“We are following this increase in cases as reported,” said Arlington Public Health spokeswoman Cara O’Donnell. “We saw a similar increase in cases from the end of June/beginning of July until July 14 and then a subsequent decline. We would prefer a continued decline in cases. Only time will tell if this continues to rise.”

O’Donnell said Arlington residents should remain vigilant and continue following precautions, like wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, and physical distancing.

“It is important to remember that even though Virginia has lessened restrictions on gathering, it doesn’t mean Arlingtonians should be relaxing behaviors we know will prevent spread of the COVID-19 virus — things like staying home as the preferred option, keeping 6 foot distances or more when venturing out for essential needs, and wearing face coverings,” she said. “Public Health continues to work with our community to stress the importance of abiding by these personal behaviors given that community-wide spread is still occurring in Arlington and the region.”

“We know and we’re seeing people want to do things like go out to a restaurant or go on vacation,” O’Donnell continued. “While Virginia has lifted restrictions to allow for some of that to happen, COVID-19 isn’t going away anytime soon as the ongoing cases show.”

Despite the rising case count in Arlington, other metrics are, encouragingly, remaining steady so far.

There have only been five new COVID-related hospitalizations of Arlington residents over the past week, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data, and the PCR test positivity rate remains relatively low at 4.4% with a rise in the number of tests performed.

Additionally, new cases in Northern Virginia as a region have remained steady, with the seven-day moving average of new daily cases currently below 200.