More than 600 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Arlington over the past seven days.
The county’s average COVID-19 caseload has hit new highs, just over a week after Thanksgiving weekend, though incongruously hospitalizations have ticked down.
More than 100 new cases have been reported in Arlington in each of the past three days, including 152 new cases on Sunday, a one-day record. The seven-day trailing rate of new cases is now 605, or 86.4 per day. The county’s cumulative case count stands at 6,904.
Also on the rise: Arlington’s test positivity rate, which is now 8.5%, up from 4.9% on Thanksgiving day.
One new hospitalization and one new COVID-related death were reported over the weekend. After hitting 21 last week, the highest point since the spring epidemic, Arlington’s seven-day hospitalization count has dropped to eight.
Statewide, both case counts and hospitalizations are up.
“The numbers of new COVID-19 cases reported in Virginia and Northern Virginia set new daily highs on Sunday, and hospitalizations statewide also reached a new high,” InsideNova reported. Thirteen long-term care facilities in Northern Virginia — including Manor Care and Regency Care in Arlington — have outbreaks underway, the site also reported.
New caseload records are being set in D.C. and Maryland, as well.
With cases growing and vaccines on the way — healthcare and long-term care workers will be the first in line for immunization in Virginia, according to the Virginia Dept. of Health — officials are urging universal mask-wearing in public places, especially indoors.
Please wear a mask when you’re outside your home (indoors or outside). https://t.co/xhXEVdEUps
— Ready Arlington (@ReadyArlington) December 4, 2020