Home COVID cases up: But still not tracking, yet, comparable to the Omicron wave
Virginia

COVID cases up: But still not tracking, yet, comparable to the Omicron wave

Chris Graham
covid-19 news
(© ezstudiophoto – stock.adobe.com)

COVID cases are up – way up, actually – with the latest wave. At this stage, we’re nowhere near where we were with the winter Omicron wave with either cases or hospitalizations.

The caveat: yes, we don’t know where we are yet in the current wave.

From a look at numbers from the Virginia Department of Health, the Commonwealth is averaging 3,307.9 new cases per day over the past seven days, and 2,476.2 per day over the past 28 days.

The daily case numbers are nowhere near where they were at the height of the Omicron wave this past winter, which peaked at a seven-day average of 18,782 cases per day on Jan. 13, and 12,072.3 cases per day in the preceding 28 days, dating back to Dec. 17.

Hospitalizations are also trending much lower than the height of the winter COVID wave. The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is reporting 459 patients either with COVID or suspected of having COVID in hospitals in the Commonwealth today, and a seven-day moving average of 429 COVID patients per day.

The high-water mark during the winter wave was 3,755, and a seven-day moving average of 3,702.

It’s been a while since I last looked at vaccination trends. Sadly, there hasn’t been much progress there since my last peek at the data.

VDH reports that 82.2 percent of the state’s population has had at least one vaccine dose, 73.6 percent has had two doses, and 35.9 percent have received a booster shot.

The relative numbers for our three home localities:

  • Augusta County: 61.7% one dose, 59.8% two doses, 32.8% booster
  • Staunton: 70.2% one dose, 67.4% two doses, 40.6% booster
  • Waynesboro: 66.6% one dose, 63.7% two doses, 35.0% booster

Story by Chris Graham

Support AFP




Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

Latest News

police ICE agent
Local, Politics

Sheriffs in Page, Greene still helping ICE, as 287(g) agreements are set to expire

police sheriff DHS ICE
Local

Page County: Welfare check call leads to officer-involved shooting death

Virginia State Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting in Page County in which a 49-year-old woman who was the subject of a welfare check was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies.

police court law
Local

Local attorney gets public reprimand from Virginia State Bar over handling of case

The Virginia State Bar has issued a public reprimand of Augusta County-based criminal defense attorney Thomas Weidner, related to Weidner’s actions in the representation of Felecia Neil.

vote democrat election sticker
Politics, U.S. & World

Podcast: We get our democracy back through putting miles on our shoes

snickers
Virginia

How to help your dogs, cats through loud summer storms, fireworks

Eli Crawford Waynesboro High School
Basketball

Waynesboro High School names former R.E. Lee star Eli Crawford new boys basketball coach

vdot road
Virginia

Frederick County: One dead in awful scene involving three big rigs on Interstate 81