Arlington has reached something of a pandemic milestone on the last day of September: the cumulative total of residents hospitalized for COVID-19 has reached 500.
The pace of new hospitalizations, however, has been slowing, and it has taken three and a half months for the county to record the past 100 COVID hospitalizations, after hitting 400 on June 14.
The number of COVID-related deaths, meanwhile, reached 150 on Tuesday, and by tomorrow total cases in the county should cross 4,000, from 3,995 today.
Though all are large numbers for a 26 square mile county, the overall number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are just 1.7%, 0.2% and 0.065% of the overall Arlington population, respectively.
Current coronavirus trends in Arlington are a mixed bag. The seven-day average test positivity rate has ticked up to 3.2%, from a low point of 3.0% a few days ago. Yesterday the seven-day total of new cases hit 130, the highest point since Sept. 3. Today the seven-day total of new hospitalizations hit 3, the lowest point since Aug. 18.
Nationally, concerns remain about a rise in COVID-19 cases in the fall and winter. New York City’s health commissioner said yesterday that the city, which had an extended lull in virus spread this summer after being hard-hit early in the pandemic, is now seeing an “alarming increase” in new cases.
