Another High Point for New Coronavirus Cases in Arlington

The average rate of coronavirus cases in Arlington, and the county’s test positivity rate, both hit fresh multi-month highs today.

Twenty-eight new cases were reported overnight, which bumped up the trailing seven-day average to 40.9 daily cases. That’s the highest daily case rate in Arlington since the initial spring wave.

Arlington’s test positivity rate, meanwhile, is now 5.6%, the highest point since July. One month ago it stood at 3.5%.

No new COVID-related deaths were reported overnight, but the Virginia Dept. of Health reported five new hospitalizations in Arlington, bringing the trailing seven-day total to 10.

Statewide, Virginia’s COVID-19 daily case count hit a new high yesterday, InsideNova reported, surging past 1,500 for the first time.

Cases are also up significantly in D.C. and Maryland. Montgomery County, Maryland reported the biggest daily increase in COVID cases since June yesterday, according to Bethesda Magazine.

The increase in cases locally comes amid a surge in cases nationwide, as the weather gets colder and people spend more time indoors, where the virus spreads more easily.

“New coronavirus infections jumped by 40% over the past week,” Axios reported today. “The U.S. is now averaging roughly 119,000 new cases per day — by far the highest daily average of any point in the pandemic.”

A new report found that restaurants, gyms and coffee shops ranked high “among locations where the coronavirus is most likely to spread outside the home.” But the virus has also been spreading via informal social gatherings — like dinner parties, game nights, sleepovers and carpools — according to the Washington Post.