Home COVID-19 test, hospitalization numbers trending down
Local News

COVID-19 test, hospitalization numbers trending down

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

COVID-19 positive test and hospitalization numbers in Virginia are plummeting, trends that follow what is happening across the U.S.

Good news on a Monday morning, this first day of February.

The Monday update to the Virginia Department of Health COVID-19 data dashboard reported 2,861 new positive COVID test results, after a Sunday report of 2,558 new test results.

Remember that two weeks ago, back on Jan. 17, VDH reported 9,914 positives in a single day.

The reporting on that date was clearly an outlier. The seven-day moving average of COVID positives peaked a day later at 6,166.

The average today: 4,146, a drop of 32.8 percent.

Going back to that Jan. 17 date, VDH reported that there were 4,041 people with a confirmed positive test result, or were considered a probable COVID case just awaiting a test result, in Virginia hospitals.

The number of COVID patients in Virginia hospitals today: 2,441.

That’s a 39.6 percent decrease in two weeks.

The hospitalization trend nationwide is following a similar trend.

According to the COVID Tracking Project, the number of people hospitalized nationwide with a positive COVID-19 test or considered a COVID probable was at 95,013 as of the Sunday update to its dashboard.

The peak, back on Jan. 12, was 131,326.

The decrease over the 19-day period: 27.7 percent.

The total in hospitals is at its lowest point since Nov. 29.

The national drop in hospitalizations tracks with a drop nationally in positive COVID tests. From a review of COVID Tracking Project data, the average for the seven-day period ending on Sunday was 144,861, down 40.3 percent from the peak seven-day average of 242,464 for the week of Jan. 4-10.

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].